University  of  California  •  Berkeley 
Purchased  as  the  gift  of 

TOMAS  S.  VANASEK 


THE 


VOLCANO  DIGGINGS; 


TALE   OF   CALIFORNIA  LAW. 


BY  A  MEMBER  OF  THE  BAR. 


-li 


Dick.  The  first  tiling  we  do,  let's  kill  all  the  lawyers. 

Cade.  Nay,  that  I  mean  to  do.  Is  not  this  a  lamentable  thing,  that  of  the  skin  of  an 
innocent  lamb  should  be  made  parchment?  that  parchment,  being  scribbled  o'er, 
should  undo  a  man  ?  Some  say,  the  bee  stings  ;  but  I  say,  't  is  the  bee's  wax ;  for  I 
did  put  seal  once  to  a  thing,  and  I  was  never  mine  own  man  since.— KING  HENRY  VI. 


N  E  W  Y  O  R  K  : 
J.   S.   REDFIELD,   CLINTON   HALL, 

CORNER    OF    NASSAU    AND    BEEKMAN    STREETS. 

1851. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1851, 
BY  J.  S.   REDFIELD, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  in  and 
for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


STEREOTYPED    BY   C.   C.   SAVAGE, 

13  Chambers  Street,  N.  Y. 


PREFACE. 


A  FEW  words  by  way  of  introduction,  reader!  — 

The  object  of  this  tale  has  been  to  illustrate  the 
blind  and  foolish  ignorance  of  those  who  are  for  ever 
carping  at  the  systematic  workings  of  our  judicial  and 
legal  institutions ;  and  also  to  show  the  danger  as  well 
as  the  absurdity  of  despising  forms,  and  trusting  to 
extempore  suggestions  for  a  true  demonstration  of 
legal  principles. 

The  early  lynch-law  trials  in  California  furnish  sa 
vory  food  for  reflection  upon  this  topic  ;  and,  as  the 
author  has  spent  much  time  in  that  country,  and  has 
so  travelled  through  it  as  to  be  well  acquainted  with 
its  different  phases  of  life,  he  has  concluded  that  he 
could  not  choose  a  more  expedient  region  for  the 
development  of  his  plot. 

Many  of  the  following  descriptions  of  scenes  and 
scenery  have  been  drawn  from  the  life.  Those  among 
our  countrymen  who  have  ever  visited  the  Volcano 


4:  PREFACE. 

diggings,  will,  it  is  hoped,  recognise  the  picture  — 
though,  of  course,  understanding  that  the  plot  is  en 
tirely  fictitious,  and  in  no  way  to  be  identified  with 
that  locality  more  than  with  any  other.  Several  of 
the  characters  are  also  drawn  from  actual  observation 
or  acquaintance ;  among  which,  Burschenwolt,  Ken 
tucky,  and  Pickle  Jack,  will  be  readily  recalled  by 
such  of  the  author's  friends  as  worked  with  him  at  the 
pickaxe  and  rocker. 

— And  now,  reader,  to  the  story ! 


THE 


VOLCANO   DIGGINGS. 


You,  dear  C ,  have  to-day  been  sitting  in  your 

little  three-pair-back  office,  conning  over  whole  pages 
of  law,  which,  in  your  heart,  you  sometimes  doubt  ever 
having  an  opportunity  to  make  use  of — or,  as  you  hear 
some  one  ascending  your  stairs,  who  may  be  a  client, 
but  who  turns  out  to  be  only  an  apple-man  or  the  tax- 
gatherer,  hurriedly  slipping  into  your  desk  some  novel 
which  mental  fatigue  has  tempted  you  to  take  up — or 
gazing  vacantly  upon  your  burnished  sign,  as  you 
wonder  why  that  good-natured  old-bachelor  gentleman, 
who,  in  romances,  is  always  getting  his  property  into 
embarrassing  situations  just  in  the  very  nick  of  time  to 
help  along  worthy  young  lawyers,  does  not  sometimes 
favor  you  with  a  call,  —  forgetting  that  there  are  few 
Brothers  Cheeryble  in  real  life.  Start  not,  nor  begin  to 
ask  by  what  magnetic  influence  or  gift  of  second-sight 
I  have  detected  you  in  your  avocations  ;  for,  with  you, 

one  day  is  as  another,  and  it  requires  but  little  shrewd- 

1* 


0  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

ness  to  imagine  that  the  pursuits  which  employed  you 
a  year  ago  are  still  the  objects  of  your  thoughts  and 
actions. 

I,  on  the  contrary,  fresh  from  the  restraints  and  tos- 
sings  of  a  long  sea-voyage,  have  been  riding  over  the 
plains  of  this  Land  of  Gold  —  this  California  —  feeling 
that  buoyancy  of  soul  which  a  freedom  from  the  cares 
and  proprieties  of  civilization  so  \vonderfully  encour 
ages  ;  stifling  every  doubt  of  future  success,  whenever 
any  such  doubts  have  dared  arise  ;  and  confusing  poor 
Memnon  with  details  of  my  many  plans,  to  be  carried 
out  when  our  already  brightening  dawn  of  prosperity 
shall  have  ripened  into  a  glorious  noon.  You  remem 
ber  Memnon — that  faithful  negro,  born  in  the  family, 
and  nicknamed  after  the  Egyptian  statue,  by  reason  of 
a  similar  habit  of  singing  at  sunrise.  He  has  ridden 
at  my  side,  as  the  last  relic  of  a  fallen  house  ;  and, 
though  I  can  not  make  him  enter  into  all  my  feelings 
with  the  same  enthusiasm,  and  am  sometimes  inclined 
to  blush  for  the  excessive  nonchalance  with  which  he 
hears  the  most  glowing  prospects  unfolded  before  him, 
yet,  upon  the  whole,  for  a  long  travel  in  a  strange  land, 
he  makes  a  capital  good  companion,  despite  his  tawny 
skin  and  frizzled  poll. 

You  are  now  asleep,  and  are  probably  dreaming  of 
future  greatness.  Perhaps  you  think  that  you  are  ad 
dressing  an  enlightened  and  intelligent  jury  —  such  a 
body  having  at  last  been  found  —  and  have  succeeded, 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  7 

in  despite  of  their  enlightenment  and  intelligence,  in 
convincing  them  that  tweedledum  means  tweedledee, 
to  the  delight  of  all  spectators  and  the  admiration  of 
the  bench.  Or  perhaps  you  imagine  that  the  man  who 
never  tells  his  story  over  twice  has  given  you  a  cause  ; 
or,  better  yet,  that  the  man  who  never  challenges  any 
item  in  your  bill  of  costs  is  your  client.  These  may 

be  vain  dreams,  C ,  but  they  are  oftentimes  better 

than  the  waking  realities  of  morning. 

I  am  sitting  upon  the  ground,  in  one  of  those  little 
caravansaries  which  sprinkle  the  road  to  the  mines,  at 
half-day  distances.  Before  me  is  an  old  Mexican  sad 
dle,  upon  one  of  the  broad  flaps  of  which  I  am  writing 
this  letter ;  for  the  table,  upon  which  I  fondly  relied 
but  an  hour  ago,  has  been  taken  up  by  sundry  tired 
travellers,  as  the  nearest  substitute  for  a  cot :  for  this 
is  a  crowded  night,  and  upon  all  sides  slumberers  lie 
thickly  around  me.  On  the  bar  and  behind  the  bar? 
across  the  doorway  and  behind  the  barrels,  they  lie 
thickly  stowed  away ;  while,  from  the  rafters  above 
them,  a  sick  man  swings  in  a  bamboo  hammock,  and 
dolefully  groans  at  each  puff  of  air  which  stirs  his  pen 
dant  couch. 

Outside  there  are  others,  who  can  not  find  room 
in  the  tent,  or  whose  inclination  prompts  them  to 
sleep  in  the  open  air.  Near  one  of  the  trees  which 
surround  the  tent  a  party  of  rough-bearded  Germans 
have  built  up  a  large  fire,  and  have  stretched  them- 


8  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

selves  in  their  blankets,  with  their  feet  lo  the  flames, 
in  true  bivouac  style.  Their  guns  are  stacked  close 
at  hand ;  and  one  or  two,  who  have  mules,  have  teth 
ered  the  animals  in  very  close  proximity.  At  first,  the 
whole  party  was  very  noisy,  and  talked  long  and  fast 
in  harsh  gutturals ;  but,  as  the  fire  has  gone  gradually 
down,  they  have  subsided  into  silence,  and  are  now 
doubtless  fast  asleep,  with  the  exception  of  one  who 
now  and  then  rises  to  throw  an  additional  log  on  the 
dying  embers.  He  too  will  ere  long  drop  off,  if  I  can 
judge  by  the  lazy  air  with  which  he  tossed  the  last 
stick  upon  the  flames. 

A  little  farther  off,  half  a  dozen  Mexicans  have  cho 
sen  their  resting-place.  Their  fire  burns  brighter  than 
that  of  the  other  party,  for  two  of  them  are  yet  sitting 
up  and  playing  their  indefatigable  "  monte"  by  the 
flickering  light.  The  others  are  curled  up  in  their 
ponchoes  like  so  many  dogs,  and  probably  with  just 
about  as  much  solicitude  for  the  morrow.  A  merry 
life  the  vagabonds  seern  to  lead ;  for,  though  often 
hungry  and  always  dirty,  yet,  in  their  worst  afflictions, 
a  greasy  pack  of  cards  will  cause  them  to  forget  all 
their  trials,  and  they  will  be  as  happy  as  though  rolling 
in  every  luxury. 

Though  almost  every  one  is  asleep,  yet  silence 
is  not  prevalent.  Not  to  speak  of  the  suppressed 
murrnurings  of  the  sick  man,  or  the  low,  whispered 
conversation  of  the  gaming  Mexicans,  occasionally 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  9 

breaking  out  into  a  discordant  laugh,  or  the  tread  of 
the  tethered  mules  as  they  now  and  then  rise  up  to 
crop  the  scanty  grass,  the  mingled  yells  of  wild-cajs, 
wolves,  and  coyotes,  come  across  the  plain  at  irregular 
intervals,  making  night  hideous.  Now  and  then,  as  I1 
peep  through  the  folds  of  the  half-closed  door,  I  see 
one  or  two  of  the  latter  striding  to  and  fro  behind  the 
fire,  as  though  attracted  by  the  sight  or  smell  of  the 
slaughtered  ox,  hanging  from  a  limb  of  a  tree — un 
til  a  chance  movement  of  some  troubled  sleeper  fright 
ens  them  away,  when  they  will  scamper  off,  and  at  a 
safe  distance  make  the  plains  resound  with  their  yells 

of  disappointment.     Ah,  C ,  a  life  in  the  wilds  for 

me,  where  the  soul  can  rove  free  from  all  the  trammels 
of  civilization,  and  man  feels  his  native,  inherent  no 
bility  ! 

"  Fudge  !"  I  hear  you  say.  "  These  are  mere  dis 
tempered  fancies — mere  boyish  attempts  to  give  a 
happy  aspect  to  a  foolish  expedition." 

Granted,  in  part,  dear  C .     And  why  should  I 

not  encourage  such  fancies  ?  I  have  my  wretched 
seasons  of  heart-burning  anxiety,  and  is  it  not  proper 
that  I  should  encourage  myself  with  cheerful  thoughts  ? 
Trust  me,  that  though  my  writing  may  show  the  work 
ing  of  a  reckless  feeling,  yet  I  am  not  entirely  devoid 
of  carefulness  and  consideration.  Much  that  I  tell  you 
in  regard  to  my  impulses  is  assumed  to  cover  anxious 
speculations ;  and  why  should  I  not  assume  gayety,  if 


10  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

properly  tempered  with  thoughtful  concern  ?  Would 
it  be  better,  think  you,  to  suffer  my  mind  to  be  chilled 
with  gloomy  forebodings  and  dreadful  looking  forward 
to  direful  contingencies,  which,  though  possible,  may 
never  happen  ? 

But,  as  to  the  foolishness  of  my  expedition,  I  can 
not  agree  with  you.  Had  I  been  placed  where  influ 
ence  and  position  would  forward  my  interests,  where 
even  a  little  present  success  might  foreshadow  future 
triumph,  I  could  cheerfully  have  remained  at  your 
side,  and  toiled  for  the  prize  with  a  contented  heart. 
But  when  dropped  in  a  strange  city  —  placed  almost 
unknown  among  hundreds  who  are  struggling  in  the 
same  occupation  —  seeing  one  after  another  of  later 
growth  climbing  above  me,  because  family  or  friends 
stretch  forth  a  fostering  hand,  while  I  am  left  behind 
for  want  of  the  same  —  ah!  I  like  not  the  picture. 
You  may  tell  of  instance  after  instance  where  men, 
after  undeviating  application,  have  risen  to  fame  and 
power ;  but,  while  I  applaud  their  enterprise,  I  do  not 
think  that  it  is  a  necessary  duty  to  follow  their  exam 
ple.  Better  to  make  an  early  resort  to  these  wilds  — 
where,  if  danger  and  death  threaten,  success  on  the 
other  hand  will  be  more  speedy ;  and  where,  though 
hardships  may  intervene,  the  joyous  feelings  of  youth 
may  sometimes  find  an  outlet.  Better  all  this  than  to 
sit  year  after  year  torpidly  poring  over  musty  books  in 
dusty  rooms,  till  every  sense  of  springlike  elasticity  is 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  11 

stagnated,  and  the  long-looked-for  wealth  and  honors 
find  but  wintry  old  age  to  rejoice  in  them. 

And  now,  dear  C ,  a  few  words  and  messages 

to  other  absent  acquaintances,  after  which  I  will  con 
tinue  my  journal  without  further  interruption  —  day 
by  day,  as  I  find  time,  noting  down  whatever  I  think 
may  interest  you ;  while,  at  the  first  suitable  opportu 
nity,  I  will  send  you  the  collected  MS.,  whether  it  may 
tell  of  good  or  evil  to  your  seemingly-erring  friend. 
******** 

The  watchfire  now  burns  low,  for  the  guardian 
Mexicans  have  dropped  asleep,  and  the  last  embers 
are  settling  to  ashes.  The  wolves  and  coyotes  have 
ceased  their  howling,  thanks  to  a  stalwart  Texan,  who, 
a  few  minutes  ago,  fired  his  rifle  in  the  direction  of 
the  yelling  pack.  Around  me  the  forms  of  my  fellow- 
travellers  are  plunged  into  a  yet  deeper  sleep,  if  pos 
sible,  and  even  the  sick  man  has  fallen  into  a  few  hours 
of  troubled  rest.  So  I  close  my  portfolio ;  and,  with 
a  blessing  upon  those  I  have  left  behind,  prepare  to 
follow  the  general  example.  Good-night ! 


12  THE    VOLCANO   DIGGINGS  : 

II 

THE  bright  glare  of  the  sun,  shining  in  at  the  open 
end  of  the  tent,  the  canvass  flaps  of  which  had  been 
thrown  back  upon  the  roof — the  sudden  loud  laughter 
of  the  Germans,  as  they  greeted  some  capital  joke  — 
and  the  rather  hasty  demand  that  I  should  take  my 
feet  off  somebody's  blanket,  as  he  was  about  to  pack 
up  —  proved  sufficient  incentives  to  awaken  me  at  an 
early  hour.  Upon  raising  myself  upon  my  elbow,  I 
saw  that,  in  place  of  the  crowd  which  had  slept  about 
me,  the  place  was  nearly  deserted.  The  man  who 
had  so  summarily  requested  his  blanket,  had  gone  off 
with  it  to  his  mule  ;  and,  with  the  exception  of  the 
landlord,  mixing  up  a  morning  drink  for  himself,  an 
attache  laying  the  knives  and  forks  for  breakfast,  and 
the  sick  man  in  the  hammock,  I  was  alone. 

I  jumped  up  and  looked  out.  The  Germans  had 
already  put  the  oxen  to  their  lumbering  old  wagon, 
and  were  now  loading  up  their  firearms  and  replenish 
ing  their  canteens  for  the  day's  march.  The  Mexicans 
had  apparently  stolen  off  some  time  before ;  for,  of  all 
the  crowd  which  had  bivouacked  the  past  night  beneath 
the  trees,  but  two  remained  —  one  of  whom  was  drunk 
and  the  other  wretchedly  lazy.  Several  of  the  poorer 
class  of  travellers  of  all  nations  were  examining  their 
scanty  stock  of  provisions,  previous  to  taking  their 
departure  ;  while  those  who  were  better  to  do  in  the 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  13 

world,  or  who  were  but  too  little  experienced  in  the 
hardships  of  gold-digging  to  value  its  acquisition 
aright,  were  standing  beside  their  saddled  mules,  and 
gayly  retailing  merry  jokes  to  beguile  the  time  until 
the  more  elaborate  banquet  of  the  establishment  might 
be  ready.  And  from  the  little  kitchen-tent  came  the 
uproarious  choruses  of  Memnon,  who,  true  to  his  name, 
had  commenced  his  songs  at  sunrise,  and  had  ever 
since  continued  them  ;  while,  with  a  laudable  desire  to 
combine  the  useful  with  the  ornamental,  as  well  as  to 
make  new  friends,  he  had  been  giving  valuable  assist 
ance  to  the  negro-cook,  and  thus  had  materially  for 
warded  the  preparations  for  breakfast. 
"  Memnon !" 
"Sar?" 
"All  ready?" 

"  Horses  all  packed,  sar.  Just  wait  for  de  blankets." 
"  Well,  then,  put  them  on  ;  and  now  for  breakfast." 
I  turned  into  the  tent,  and  seated  myself  at  the  table, 
while  Memnon  breakfasted  in  the  kitchen,  by  invitation 
of  the  cook  ;  and  then,  after  a  few  minutes  of  industri 
ous  application,  we  sallied  forth  and  prepared  to  re 
sume  our  journey.  I  mounted  my  mule,  a  high-spirited 
but  vicious  animal,  while  Memnon  took  charge  of  two 
raw-boned  horses  which  I  had  purchased  at  a  bargain. 
One  of  them  bore  our  small  stock  of  implements  and 
provisions,  and  upon  the  other  Memnon  himself  sat, 
whistling  those  perpetual  sorrows  of  the  forsaken  Su- 


14  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

sanna  —  who,  it  seemed  to  me,  had  wept  for  so  long  a 
period,  that  it  was  about  time  she  got  married  again. 
Altogether,  we  must  strikingly  have  reminded  passers- 
by  of  Don  Quixote's  first  expedition  after  adventure, 
with  this  difference,  that  here  the  knight  had  the  ass 
and  his  esquire  the  horse. 

For  a  long  time  we  slowly  travelled  on  up  the  road, 
which  pursued  its  level  way  for  miles  without  a  bend. 
The  track  was  dusty,  and  the  grass  beside  it  parched 
and  yellow.  No  underbrush  greeted  our  vision,  but 
gnarled  oaks  of  beautiful  proportions  dotted  the  plain 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  Occasionally  a  hare  or 
flock  of  quails  would  start  up  beside  us,  and  timidly 
dart  away ;  whereat  Memnon  would,  for  the  instant, 
suspend  his  whistling,  and  grin  delight  —  sometimes 
firing  the  revolver  with  which  I  had  furnished  him,  but 
never  producing  an  effective  shot.  Once  or  twice  we 
could  perceive  herds  of  wild-cattle  at  some  little  dis 
tance  from  the  road,  looking  upon  us  with  lowered 
horns  and  gleaming  eyes,  as  though  desiring  us  to  fur 
nish  some  provocation  which  might  serve  as  an  excuse 
for  our  destruction  ;  whereat  Memnon  would  draw  up 
nervously  at  my  side,  under  pretence  of  asking  some 
question  or  other. 

Now  and  then  we  passed  some  straggling  parties  on 
foot,  sauntering  along  good-naturedly,  and  equipped 
with  muskets  and  canteens  ;  or  perhaps  a  rollicksome 
sailor,  with  red  sash  and  bloody  spurs,  would  dash 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  15 

past  us  at  a  rate  which  boded  but  little  length  of  days 
to  his  sweating  steed ;  or  a  train  of  oxen  would  meet 
us,  slowly  dragging  some  white-topped  wagon,  which, 
having  gone  to  the  mines  loaded  down  with  goods, 
would  now  be  returning  for  another  cargo,  and  often 
with  some  poor,  emaciated  miner,  weary  and  heart 
sick,  lying  upon  the  bottom,  and  only  returning  to  the 
settlements  to  die. 

You  know,  dear  C ,  that  I  am  naturally  careless 

and  indifferent,  and  perhaps  too  much  inclined  to  trust 
to  stumbling  upon  good  luck,  rather  than  to  make  efforts 
to  encounter  it.  But  you  will  hardly  credit  that  I  was 
wandering  ahead,  light  and  free  hearted,  without  in  the 
least  knowing  whither  I  was  going.  That  I  was  on 
the  road  to  some  of  the  mines  I  was  well  assured,  but 
which  particular  districts  terminated  the  way  was  a 
matter  about  which  I  knew  little  and  cared  less.  For, 
by  what  I  had  gleaned  below  from  chance  travellers,  I 
had  been  led  to  consider  one  mine  about  as  good  as 
another  ;  and  I  had  partly  determined  to  stop  at  the 
first  which  lay  in  my  way,  and  there  commence  my 
operations.  The  only  object  of  solicitude  I  entertained 
was,  to  place  myself  in  some  favorable  position  where 
my  legal  abilities  might  be  called  to  good  account ; 
for,  though  those  were  certainly  not  sufficient  to  ele 
vate  me  to  any  very  exalted  rank  in  an  eastern  city, 
yet  I  judged  that,  among  the  crowd  of  ignorant  and 
lawless  men  who  swarmed  the  mines,  even  moderate 


16  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

legal  acquirements  might  serve  as  a  stepping-stone  to 
fortune. 

Such,  then,  had  been  the  principle  upon  which  I 
had  carelessly  jogged  along:  but  no\v,  as  the  road  be 
came  more  broken,  and  I  saw  the  distant  mountains 
turning  from  blue  to  brown,  and  noticed  from  time  to 
time  the  various  trails  which  led  from  the  main  road,  I 
became  conscious  that  it  was  time  to  enter  upon  some 
determination  in  regard  to  my  destination,  and  that  I 
should  therefore  lose  no  time  in  making  such  inquiries 
as  might  lead  to  a  selection  of  the  most  proper  and 
available  locality.  Apparently  such  thoughts  began 
to  confuse  the  mind  of  Memnon ;  for,  after  eying  me 
steadily  for  some  minutes,  he  dropped  the  reins  on  the 
neck  of  his  steed,  ceased  whistling  in  the  midst  of  a 
deplorably  doleful  strain,  and  inquired  — 

"Where  we  go  now,  sar?" 

"  To  the  mines,  of  course,"  I  answered,  endeavor 
ing  to  counterfeit  an  ease  of  manner  which  might  give 
the  impression  that  everything  had  already  been  satis 
factorily  determined  upon. 

"  Yes,  yes  ;  but  what  mine,  sar?"  he  responded,  not 
at  all  deceived  by  my  ill-disguised  assumption.  "  Good 
many  mines  here  !  See  man  from  Maukelumne,  hab 
six-ounce  lump  i" 

"  Ah  ?  well,  then,  to  the  Maukelumne  we — " 

"  See  'noder  man  from  Calaveras  hab  ten-ounce 
lump!" 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  17 

'  To  be  sure  !  I  always  thought  that  the  Calave- 
ras— " 

"  Man  from  Tuolumne  hab  no  lumps,  but  dust — 
good  many  ounces  !" 

"  Indeed?  Well,  after  all,  I  don't  know  but  what 
the  TU— " 

"  See  'noder  man  from  the  Tuolumne  hab  neber  a 
cent!" 

"  Well,  well,"  I  said,  rather  corning  down  in  my 
tone,  as  I  heard  this  last  bit  of  mining  experience ; 
"  we'll  find  out  where  to  go.  And  we'll  ask  that  man 
under  the  tree :  he  may  give  us  some  information." 

Memnon  dropped  behind,  and  fell  to  whistling  again, 
and  we  rode  forward  to  the  person  I  had  alluded  to  — 
a  rough-looking  Dutchman,  resting  himself  beneath  a 
spreading  oak,  with  an  old  musket,  which  might  pos 
sibly  have  served  in  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  leaning 
upon  his  knee.  But  all  in  vain  did  we  attempt  to  get 
information  out  of  him.  I  tried  him  in  English,  then 
with  a  smattering  of  French,  and  then  with  a  few  bar 
barously-delivered  sentences  of  Spanish  ;  but  the  only 
thing  the  fellow  knew  was  his  native  Holland  tongue, 
and  that  was  entirely  beyond  my  depth.  As  some 
amends  for  my  disappointment,  however,  he  held  out 
a  flask  of  schnaps,  the  first  taste  of  which  took  the  skin 
off  my  mouth  ;  and,  sputtering  out  a  hasty  farewell,  I 
left  him.  As  I  looked  back,  after  having  ridden  a 
quarter  of  a  mile,  he  was  still  sitting  in  the  same  posi- 

2* 


18  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

tion,  and  gazing  after  us  in  a  listless  mood,  which  did 
not  betoken  a  mind  anxious  to  be  at  work. 

It  was  getting  to  be  noon,  when,  for  the  purpose  of 
resting  bath  ourselves  and  our  quadrupeds,  I  proposed 
a  halt ;  and  we  threw  ourselves  upon  the  parched 
grass,  leaving  the  animals  to  wander  unrestrained  by 
anything  except  the  long  lariats,  which,  in  Spanish 
style,  we  usually  carried  coiled  up  in  front  of  the  sad 
dles,  and  which  we  now  made  fast  to  the  bare  roots 
of  a  neighboring  tree.  The  place  at  which  we  halted 
was  upon  the  edge  of  one  of  those  deep  gullies  which 
so  much  abound  in  the  low  lands  of  California,  and 
which,  though  dry  in  summer,  are  generally  roaring 
torrents  in  winter.  The  trees  were  now  more  thickly 
studding  the  ground  about  us  ;  and,  while  the  oaks 
continued  to  assert  their  place,  a  straggling  pine  here 
and  there  betokened  our  nearer  approach  to  the  mount 
ains.  A  slight  growth  of  underbrush  also  appeared, 
consisting  of  dwarf-oak  and  certain  red-berried  shrubs, 
said  to  be  considered  a  very  great  delicacy  by  the 
grizzly  bears,  which  occasionally  descend  to  seek  their 
food  in  the  valleys.  Here,  then,  we  stretched  ourselves 
out,  at  the  foot  of  one  of  the  trees,  and,  lighting  our 
pipes,  mused  away  several  minutes  —  in  which  I  was 
rapidly  forgetting  all  about  the  mines,  as  my  imagina 
tion  wandered  back  to  the  East  and  the  friends  I  had 
left  behind,  when  suddenly  M emnon  recalled  my  attention 
by  pointing  to  the  road  over  which  we  had  just  passed. 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  19 

Two  men,  each  mounted  upon  a  handsome  mule, 
were  slowly  riding  along  in  our  direction.  Although 
I  never  expected  to  have  the  slightest  interest  in  them, 
yet,  as  the  study  of  character  has  ever  been  a  favorite 
pastime  with  me,  and  at  that  moment  its  pursuit  was 
an  exercise  perfectly  in  accordance  with  my  then  indo 
lent  frame  of  mind,  I  propped  myself  upon  my  elbow, 
and  commenced  watching  them  closely,  and  endeavor 
ing,  from  their  manners  and  features,  to  assure  myself 
of  their  several  natures  and  occupations.  Just  then, 
however,  I  noticed  that  they  stopped  opposite  a  little 
clump  of  underbrush,  and  seemed  to  be  looking  down 
with  considerable  interest. 

Not  certain  but  what  they  had  stumbled  upon  a  gold 
mine  of  great  richness  and  value  —  for  I  had  but  very 
limited  conceptions  of  the  usual  localities  of  the  dig 
gings — I  mounted  my  mule,  and  dashed  up  to  them ; 
but  found  that  they  had  only  discovered  a  sailor-friend 
of  theirs,  who  had  been  so  overtaken  with  intoxication 
as  to  be  forced  to  seek  repose  for  the  time  in  the  privity 
of  the  underbrush,  to  the  detriment  of  his  tarpaulin-hat 
and  short-cut  coat,  one  of  which  was  very  much  crushed 
and  the  other  very  much  soiled.  I  rather  wondered 
that  I  had  not  previously  seen  him  myself  as  I  passed 
along,  since  he  had  evidently  been  there  some  time. 

"  Pickle  Jack  drunk  again !"  said  one  of  the  two 
strangers,  looking  at  me. 

I  supposed  that  "  Pickle  Jack"  had  been  so  named 


20  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

in  allusion  to  some  real  or  fancied  fondness  for  the  con 
diment  in  question  ;  but  seeing  that  the  speaker  seemed 
to  be  expecting  an  answer,  I  dismissed  all  such  specu 
lations  from  my  mind,  and  replied  that  I  was  sorry 
Pickle  Jack  was  addicted  to  such  bad  practices,  as,  if 
persevered  in,  they  would  inevitably  impair  his  useful 
ness  in  society,  and  finally  bring  him  to  destruction. 

"You  may  well  say  that,  stranger,"  said  the  person 
who  had  addressed  me.  "But  come — if  you  are 
going  our  way,  join  us ;  and,  as  for  Pickle  Jack,  you 
may  depend  upon  it  he'll  come  along  in  a  day  or  two." 

I  accepted  the  offer,  and  we  rode  along  together. 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  21 


III. 

As,  for  a  short  time,  silence  intervened,  I  had  a 
good  opportunity  to  observe  my  new  companions  more 
closely.  One  was  dressed  in  plain  homespun  clothes, 
without  the  slightest  approach  to  any  sort  of  ornament, 
excepting  the  large  hunting-buttons  which  adorned  his 
loose,  long-flapped  coat.  Even  his  equipments  exhib 
ited  the  same  simplicity,  for  his  pistol  was  a  rough, 
uncouth-looking  instrument,  which  would  not  have 
brought  a  dollar  at  any  sale ;  and  his  knife  had  been 
broken  in  the  handle,  and  mended  up  again  with  poorly- 
fashioned  splints  of  oak.  But  something  in  the  wear 
er's  face  assured  me  that  he  could  use  both  pistol  and 
knife  to  great  advantage,  if  so  compelled ;  for  there 
was  energy  in  his  eye,  determination  in  his  "mouth,  and 
strength  in  his  bony  hand,  which  grasped  the  reins  as 
though  they  were  plough-handles.  Upon  the  whole,  I 
set  my  new  friend  down  for  a  Tennessee  or  Kentucky 
farmer  —  middle-aged,  deficient  in  education,  but  well 
skilled  in  woodcraft,  hunting,  and  all  those  rougher 
pursuits  to  which  a  life  in  the  West  so  well  disciplines 
an  energetic  man. 

The  other  person  was  not  yet  thirty  years  of  age. 
He  was  tall  and  thin,  and  had  all  the  unmistakeable 
characteristics  of  the  German  race.  He  was,  more- 


22  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

over,  something  of  a  dandy;  for  he  wore  a  red  sash, 
tied  about  his  waist  with  an  air  of  easy  negligence,  and 
his  long  beard  and  mustache  were  as  accurately  cut 
and  trimmed  as  though  he  were  still  in  an  eastern  city. 
His  pistol  and  dirk  were  elegantly  mounted,  and  stuck 
in  his  belt  more  with  an  eye  to  effect  than  for  facility 
of  handling.  In  addition  to  these  little  traits,  it  struck 
me  that  he  was  of  a  rather  indolent  and  withal  sociable 
disposition — possessing  great  talents,  but  without  the 
energy  to  direct  them  properly  ;  having  a  good  knowl 
edge  of  human  nature,  but  without  those  elements  of 
self-action  necessary  to  prevent  the  world  from  taking 
every  advantage  of  him ;  one  of  those  cheerful,  jovial 
men,  who  wander  around  the  globe,  engaging  in  every 
occupation,  and  never  sticking  to  one  for  a  year  at  a 
time ;  taking  evil  with  resignation,  as  the  precursor  of 
good,  and  good  with  equal  equanimity  as  the  reward 
of  past  deprivations,  and  one  to  be  enjoyed  recklessly 
while  it  may  last ;  spending  large  sums  in  the  wildest 
extravagance  in  a  single  day,  and  starving  with  the 
most  philosophical  stoicism  for  the  next  week  :  in  fine, 
a  man  of  cultivated  mind,  great  generosity,  good  nature, 
and  unbounded  confidence  in  some  distant  future  —  a 
capital  good  fellow  to  live  with.  I  took  a  liking  to  him 
immediately. 

"Know  Pickle  Jack?"  inquired  the  oldest  of  the 
two,  whom  I  shall  designate  by  the  title  of  Kentucky. 

"  No,"  I  answered. 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  23 

"  Hard  character  in  the  Volcano.  Thought  every 
body  knew  Pickle  Jack." 

I  had  never  yet  heard  of  the  Volcano ;  and  though 
I,  of  course,  conjectured  that  it  was  a  new  mine,  yet  I 
had  no  actual  idea  whether  it  was  so  called  from  any 
traits  of  inordinate  excitability  about  its  inhabitants,  or 
whether  from  the  fact  that  the  miners  might  be  com 
pelled  to  descend  into  burning  craters  after  the  metal 
in  a  fluid  state.  So  I  inquired  as  to  the  direction  and 
prospects  of  the  place. 

Kentucky  drew  a  long  whistle,  significant  of  his  opin 
ion  of  my  want  of  geographicaLknowledge  ;  but  before 
he  had  time  to  answer,  the  German  put  in  his  voice  — 

"  Bad  place  —  dig  six  weeks,  and  get  hardly  a  kreut- 
zer.  Would  be  glad  as  I  was  in  Gottingen  again." 

"Pshaw!"  muttered  Kentucky;  "you  know,  Bur- 
schenwolt,  that  you  never  worked  hard.  Now  if,  in 
stead  of  laying  off  under  a  tree,  smoking  a  pipe  and 
playing  with  that  cursed  coyote  you  are  trying  to  tame, 
you  would  go  into  it  the  right  way,  you  would  do  well 
enough.  Now  I" — turning  to  me  —  "have  worked 
hard:  took  out  six  ounces  one  day  —  ten  the  next  — 
over  a  pound  the  next.  Haven't  done  much  for  the 
last  two  weeks,  but  am  just  beginning  to  strike  a  new 
vein.  So,  if  you  want  a  place  to  settle,  come  to  the 
Volcano,  where  you  will  find  plenty  of  gold,  a  raft  of 
good  fellows,  and  not  a  lawyer  in  the  place !" 

I  at  first  thought  that  the  latter  recommendation  was 


24  THE    VOLCANO   DIGGINGS  I 

meant  as  an  encouragement  to  me  to  come  and  set  up 
my  "  shingle"  in  his  vicinity,  where  I  might  -he  sure 
of  not  encountering  a  too-heavy  opposition ;  but,  re 
membering  that  he  could  have  had  no  possible  way  of 
ascertaining  my  profession  as  yet,  I  concluded,  upon 
further  consideration,  that  he  was  merely  one  of  those 
misguided  men  who  imagine  all  lawyers  to  be  born  as 
the  pests  and  robbers  of  society,  and  was  consequently 
only  easy  when  he  might  be  placed  away  from  their 
malign  influence. 

"No  place  for  them,"  continued  Kentucky;  "  do 
all  our  law  ourselves." 

"  Ah  ?     Then  you  Ijave  an  alcalde  ?" 

"Why,  no.  Had  one  once,  but  he  hung  a  man  by 
mistake  —  so  we  determined  in  future  to  give  a  man  a 
regular  trial,  and  a  good  day  if  sentenced ;  and  to  do 
it  ourselves,  so  as  not  to  be  bothered  with  any  quirls, 
and  quibbles,  and  long  bills,  of  lawyers." 

"  And  with  what  success?"  I  inquired. 

"  Why,  we  haven't  had  a  case  yet,  but  we  hope  for 
one  soon.  We  are  all  anxious  to  be  at  it,  and  show 
what  we  can  do." 

"  This  is  the  place  for  me  !"  I  reflected.  "  These 
fellows  will  get  themselves  into  some  scrape,  out  of 
which  I  shall  have  to  help  them  ;  and  then — " 

Excited  with  the  prospect,  I  dug  my  spurs  into  the 
sides  of  my  mule,  making  him  rear  up  like  a  young 
colt,  and  sung  out  for  Memnon. 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA   LAW.  25 

"Sar?" 

"  We  will  go  to  the  Volcano,  Memnon.' 

"  Bery  well,  sar,"  said  Memnon,  perfectly  satisfied. 

I  noticed  that  Burschenwolt  gazed  steadily  at  me, 
and  slightly  smiled,  as  though  he  half  suspected  my 
thoughts ;  for  I  knew  that  he  must  be  too  much  of  a 
man  of  education  to  share  his  companion's  prejudices, 
and  I  flattered  myself  that  he  saw  something  in  my  ap 
pearance  to  satisfy  him  that  I  was  not  one  of  the  un 
learned.  But  he  said  nothing,  and  seemed  to  await  a 
further  development  of  the  plot.  —  It  came. 

"Traps?"  asked  Kentucky,  pointing  back  to  my 
baggage. 

"Yes,"  said  I;  "a  tent — a  few  provisions  and 
clothes  —  and  a  pick.  That's  all,  excepting"  —  and 
here  I  hesitated,  not  knowing  how  the  disclosure  might 
be  received  — "  excepting  a  Blackstone  and  a  Chitty." 

"Ah,"  said  Kentucky,  not  wishing  to  show  any 
ignorance  as  to  the  articles  in  question,  "those  new 
fangled  rockers  do  n't  work  well." 

Burschenwolt's  smile  spread  into  a  broad  grin,  dis 
playing  a  beautifully  white  and  regular  set  of  teeth ; 
and,  as  he  reined  up  over  a  slight  gully,  he  gave  me  a 
significant  wink.  Then  I  knew  that  I  had  the  good 
fellow's  sympathies  ;  and  I  enjoyed  seeing  the  satisfac 
tion  with  which  he  seemed  to  look  forward  to  the  de 
velopments  which  the  summer  might  bring  forth  in  the 

legal  annals  of  the  Volcano. 

3 


26  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

The  conversation  now  languished,  for  we  had  been 
for  some  time  ascending  the  mountain,  and  the  many 
gullies  which  crossed  the  road  occupied  all  our  atten 
tion.  As  we  ascended,  the  beautiful  oaks  disappeared, 
though  the  underbrush  of  dwarf-timber  seemed  to  mul 
tiply.  Pines  of  enormous  magnitude  covered  the  dif 
ferent  elevations ;  and,  instead  of  the  single  trees  which 
first  appeared,  whole  forests  spread  out  on  either  hand 
before  us.  Then  Kentucky,  as  leader  of  the  party, 
suddenly  turned  from  the  main  road  and  entered  a 
narrow  trail,  over  which  ensued  a  long  and  fatiguing 
ride,  which  I  finally  began  to  think  would  never  be 
ended. 

It  was  quite  dark  when  Kentucky  told  me  that  we 
had  arrived  at  the  Volcano.  The  wolves  and  coyotes 
were  howling  around  us,  and  occasionally  the  report 
of  a  musket  would  salute  our  ears,  but  I  could  see 
nothing  to  indicate  an  approach  to  any  settlement,  ex 
cepting  a  bright  light  here  and  there- — which,  for  any 
thing  I  could  have  known  to  the  contrary,  might  as 
well  have  belonged  to  an  Indian  lodge  or  a  hunter's 
bivouac  as  the  tent  of  a  white  person.  My  conductors, 
however,  well  knew  the  way;  and  Burschenwolt,-with 
the  kind  intent  of  saving  me  any  present  embarrass 
ment,  offered  me  a  share  of  his  tent  for  the  night,  and 
helped  us  to  picket  our  animals. 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  27 


IV. 


MY  fatiguing  ride  brought  long  and  refreshing  sleep  ; 
for,  when  I  awoke,  the  sun,  at  least  an  hour  high,  was 
glaring  down  upon  me  from  behind  the  branches  of  a 
tall  pine  which  stood  directly  before  the  lent.  The 
other  occupants  of  the  tent  were  already  active.  Mem- 
non  was  engaged  in  preparing  breakfast,  the  cooking 
of  which  he  superintended  with  an  ardor  which  all  my 
unfolded  anticipations  of  a  bright  and  glowing  future 
had  not  been  able  to  call  forth  ;  and  Burschenwolt  was 
sitting  at  the  foot  of  the  pine,  playing  with  his  coyote, 
which  snarled  and  snapped,  and  in  a  variety  of  ways 
manifested  extreme  disinclination  to  be  tamed. 

"  Hilloa  !"  said  Burschenwolt  as  he  saw  that  I  was 
awake  ;  "  come  forth  for  to  partake  of  my  very  great 
bounties:  beer  of  Westphalia — wine  of  Avignon  — 
fruits  of  Sicily — all  here  spread  out!"  and  he  pointed, 
as  he  spoke,  to  the  biscuit-barrel  and  sundry  chunks  of 
liver,  which  were  lazily  frying  in  the  pan  Memnon  was 
holding.  "  My  comrade,  I  have  good  proposal  for  to 
make  to  you.  You  see  me  here,  an  old  lonely  bache 
lor —  no  one  to  speak  to,  no  one  to  smoke  with.  Often 
I  wish  as  I  was  in  Gottingen.  Well,  no  matter.  How 
you  like  for  live  with  me  ?  We  put  one  tent  before 


28  THE    VOLCANO   DIGGINGS  : 

another:  this  be  parlor  —  that  be  bedroom.     All  very 
grand !" 

I  readily  assented  to  the  proposed  arrangement,  as 
I  also  stood  in  need  of  society  ;  for,  although  Memnon 
was  a  good  and  faithful  attendant,  I  sometimes  found 
that,  to  drive  away  the  blues,  T  lacked  more  intellect 
ual  company.  So  we  arranged  our  parlor  and  bed 
room,  in  a  style  which  we  were  somewhat  afraid  would 
bring  down  upon  us  the  name  of  being  too  aristocratic  ; 
and  then,  after  finishing  my  breakfast,  I  sallied  forth  to 
investigate  the  nature  of  the  Volcano. 

Imagine  a  plain  about  two  miles  wide  by  three  long, 
enclosed  on  every  side  by  hills — some  rising  with  a 
gentle,  undulating  ascent ;  others  composed  of  hard, 
broken, .jagged  rocks,  standing  up  as  steep  as  so  many 
Gibraltars  to  guard  the  precincts.  Upon  the  former 
grow  the  everlasting  pines,  towering  two  hundred  feet 
high  —  not  a  mass  of  beautiful  green  foliage,  like  our 
smaller  varieties  of  the  East,  but  holding  forth  at  irreg 
ular  distances  long,  scraggly  branches,  but  scantily  fur 
nished  with  blossoms.  Upon  the  latter  a  few  speci 
mens  of  dwarf-oak  have  sprung  up,  to  the  bewilderment 
of  all  such  as  have  ever  imagined  fresh  earth  to  be  ne 
cessary  for  the  sustenance  of  vegetation ;  or,  instead, 
prickly  shrubs  hang  over  and  reach  their  long  arms 
down  to  the  more  favored  soil  below. 

Behind  these  hills,  others  rise  in  repeated  succes 
sion,  some  larger  and  some  smaller,  until,  as  far  as  the 


A    TALE    OF    CALTFORNIA    LAW.  29 

eye  can  reach,  undulating  ranges  of  mountain-land 
form  the  scenery.  And  all  these  bear  the  customary 
weight  of  pine,  which  in  clear  days  present  a  beautiful 
green  boundary  to  the  horizon  ;  but,  when  the  atmo 
sphere  is  at  all  thick,  so  that  the  view  is  partly  inter 
cepted  with  rolling  clouds  of  mist,  look  white  and  gaunt, 
like  the  ghosts  of  Indian  warriors  skirting  the  valley, 
and  gazing  wonderingly  upon  the  rash  intrusion  of  the 
whites. 

Close  to  one  side  of  the  plain,  the  little  groups  of 
tents  are  pitched  in  close  contiguity  to  a  stream  of 
water  which  gushes  along  at  the  foot  of  the  hills,  and 
quickly  is  lost  in  the  unexplored  wilds  beyond.  A 
few  tents  also  stud  the  middle  of  the  area — but  very 
few,  since  the  distance  is  too  great  from  water,  and  the 
only  advantage  is  in  having  a  safer  place  to  picket  the 
mules  and  horses.  There  are  jovial  times  here  at  night, 
when  the  pick  and  shovel  are  thrown  beside  the  tent, 
and  the  watchfires  are  lighted,  and  the  Mexicans  crowd 
around  their  monte-cloth,  and  the  more  steady  class 
of  miners  form  in  little  groups,  and,  filling  their  pipes, 
beguile  the  hours  with  tales  of  life  upon  the  sea  and 
hunting-grounds. 

Several  ravines  run  in  between  the  hills  from  the 
plain.  Most  of  these  are  small,  and  there  the  miners 
can  reach  the  foundation-rock  at  a  very  few  feet,  and 
be  certain  of  two  or  three  dollars  a  day,  with  sometimes 
more.  This,  however,  is  not  sufficient  to  tempt  the 

3* 


30  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

majority,  who  prefer  the  greater  lottery  of  a  large  ra 
vine,  which  burrows  in  among  the  mountains,  in  some 
places,  several  hundred  feet  wide.  Here  holes  are 
dug  twenty  or  thirty  feet  deep,  until  the  whole  area 
looks  like  a  vast  tanyard.  Hard  work  it  is,  too,  grub-' 
bing  about  among  the  close-packed  stones ;  and  the 
greater  number  find,  after  weeks  of  extreme  toil,  that 
their  labor  is  rendered  ineffectual  by  layers  of  clay  or 
sudden  irruptions  of  water.  But  if,  by  chance,  the 
proper  strata  are  found,  the  reward  is  tenfold  what  can 
be  procured  in  the  more  certain  deposites  of  the  smaller 
gullies ;  and  the  successful  miner  cheerfully  loads  up 
his  sacks  with  the  rich  soil,  and  bears  it  down  to  the 
brook,  there  to  wash  it  out  and  separate  the  shiny  par 
ticles. 

—  "But  the  Volcano?"  I  think  I  hear  you  ask. 
Why,  there  are  strange  stories  of  extinct  craters  in  the 
neighborhood,  from  which,  in  former  times,  the  gold 
has  been  thrown  up  in  its  liquid  state.  Some  assert — 
and  I  presume  with  truth,  for  I  know  of  nothing  in  the 
nature  of  things  to  throw  a  doubt  upon  the  statement  — 
that  they  have  themselves  wandered  off  and  climbed 
up  where  they  could  see  the  deep,  black  pits,  within 
which  the  fires,  so  surcharged  with  richness,  once 
raged.  There  are  only  a  few  who  have  proved  thus 
adventurous,  however,  for  Polok's  tribe  is  known  to 
be  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  —  no  one  knows  in 
which  direction  —  and  Polok  is  currently  reported  to 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  3  L 

,be  a  most  bloodthirsty  fellow,  bent  upon  taking  the 
scalp  of  anybody  who  wanders  off  alone  from  the  val 
ley.  In  the  valley,  however,  his  murderous  propensi 
ties  never  dare  to  display  themselves  ;  though  at  dawn 
crowds  of  bare-legged,  copper-skinned  subjects  will 
wander  in  from  the  neighboring  gorges,  and  amuse 
themselves  in  stealing  whatever  they  can  lay  their  hands 
upon,  whether  it  be  a  horse,  a  wash-bowl,  or  a  powder- 
horn. 

It  was  evening  by  the  time  I  had  finished  my  explo 
rations  of  the  neighborhood.  Then  the  miners,  leav 
ing  some  implement  in  the  holes  at  which  they  had 
been  at  work,  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  goodly 
localities,  began  to  wend  their  way  home.  The  merry 
song  here  and  there  burst  forth,  and  the  lighted  camp- 
fires  threw  a  cheerful,  ruddy  glare  upon  the  little  groups 
collected  about  them. 

The  stars  were  gleaming  forth  in  countless  thou 
sands,  and  the  night  set  in  cool  and  pleasant,  when  I 
again  approached  our  tents.  Burschenwolt  was  not 
there,  however,  and  I  wandered  off  again  to  find  him, 
well  knowing  that  his  sociable,  happy  frame  of  mind 
would  amply  suffice  to  drive  away  all  desponding 
thoughts  from  my  breast.  As  I  strolled  on,  I  heard 
loud  laughter  issuing  from  one  of  the  tents ;  and,  at 
tracted  by  the  sound,  I  entered. 

It  was  the  largest  tent  in  the  settlement,  and  with 
reason,  for  it  comprised  the  only  place  of  merchandise. 


32  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

Barrels  of  pork,  bread,  and  liquor,  were  closely  ranged 
around  the  sides,  while  sundry  other  articles,  of  a  most 
miscellaneous  nature,  were  hung  against  the  canvass 
wall  or  from  the  cross-pieces  of  the  roof.  Among  thesej 
I  noticed  a  string  of  onions,  suspended  far  beyond  the' 
reach  of  intruding  fingers  —  the  envy  of  the  crowd  — 
and  ticketed  at  six  shillings  apiece. 

The  tent  was  full  of  miners  —  a  motley  crowd,  com 
posed  of  Yankees,  Kentuckians,  and  Oregon  men,  with 
a  fair  sprinkling  of  Mexicans.  They  were  sitting  in 
the  most  easy  positions  they  could  find  among  the  bar 
rels  and  boxes,  and  apparently,  to  judge  from  the  jocund 
laughter,  heartily  enjoying  some  joke  which  Kentucky, 
who  was  seated  upon  the  counter,  was  detailing.  Near 
by  I  perceived  Burschenwolt,  smoking  the  eternal 
meerschaam,  as  he  listened  to  the  joke  with  easy  com 
placency.  I  stopped  outside  the  tent,  where  the  dark 
ness  concealed  me,  and  listened  for  a  few  minutes 
before  entering. 

"And  that's  the  way  I  fixed  his  flint,"  said  Ken 
tucky  ;  "  and,  I  tell  you,  that  lawyer  never  again  dared 
come  near  my  plantation  —  no,  never!" 

A  louder  burst  of  laughter  followed,  and  assured  me 
that  the  lawyer  referred  to  must  have  been  "  fixed"  in 
a  most  amusing  manner.  I  felt  some  anxiety  to  hear 
the  story,  but  it  was  already  finished,  and  I  had  no 
resource  but  to  bear  my  disappointment  like  a  man. 

"He  took  Sam  Golee's  farm  from  him,  however," 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  33 

Kentucky  continued.  "  Sam  hadn't  much  spunk,  and 
the  lawyer  picked  a  quarrel  and  came  around  with  writs 
and  warrants,  and  all  that,  until  one  morning  Sam  woke 
up  and  found  he  had  nothing  left.  So  he  went  to  Texas, 
he  did." 

"  Glad  there's  none  of  that  business  here,"  another 
one  observed.  "If  there  was,  I'd  keep  dark  about 
that  vein  I  struck  yesterday.  Feared  he'd  get  it  all 
away  from  me." 

"  Humph  !  they  say  there  is  one  here.  Long  chap 
—  came  yesterday." 

A  universal  burst  of  indignation  followed  the  an 
nouncement  ;  and  sundry  persons  expressed  their  ab 
horrence  of  the  monster  who  had  dared  to  invade  the 
peaceful  precincts  of  the  Volcano,  in  the  prosecution  of 
his  demoniacal  craft.  One  man  slapped  his  hand  up 
on  his  pistol,  and  expressed  his  opinion  that  if  the  fel 
low  came  near  him,  he'd  catch  it,  he  guessed.  Of 
course,  I  began  to  feel  very  pleasant  as  I  listened  to 
these  comments  upon  my  character  and  destiny. 

"  Reg'lar  take  in  !"  said  Kentucky.  "  Met  the  chap 
on  the  road  myself.  Invited  him  up  here,  for  he  did  n't 
know  where  to  go.  Didn't  know  he  was  a  lawyer,  till 
Burschenwolt  here  accidentally  let  it  out." 

"  Good  fellow  for  all  that,"  muttered  Burschenwolt. 
"  Have  seen  many  a  man  as  is  worse." 

This  favorable  comment  was  not  attended  to,  how 
ever  ;  for  just  then  I  felt  some  one  jostle  against  me  — 


34  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

and  Pickle  Jack,  who  had  at  length  managed  to  sober 
himself  sufficiently  to  prosecute  his  journey,  plunged 
into  the  tent.  His  appearance  was  the  signal  for  a 
universal  excitement,  in  which  Burschenwolt  was  sunk 
to  nothingness  in  importance :  for  every  one  pressed 
forward  to  shake  the  new-comer  by  the  hand,  so  that 
it  was  evident  that,  in  spite  of  his  bad  habits,  filthy 
apparel,  and  overbearing  mien,  Pickle  Jack  was  some 
thing  of  a  favorite. 

"  Avast !"  said  Pickle  Jack,  when  he  had  kissed 
some,  leered  at  others,  and  shaken  all  by  the  hand,  be 
sides  patting  them  on  the  back;  how's  all  in  the  old 
Volcano  ?  Any  new  ones  ?" 

"One  —  a  lawyer,  they  say.  S'pose  he  thinks  he 
can  play  off  his  tricks  on  us." 

Pickle  Jack  had  probably  never  had  any  property 
to  be  angled  for  by  our  fraternity  ;  but  that  did  not  at 
all  diminish  the  fury  with  which  he  jumped  up  and 
swore  a  great  oath  that  if  the  fellow — poor  I — ever 
ran  athwart  his  cable,  he'd  smash  his  figure-head,  &c., 
&c.,  &c.  The  rest,  always  excepting  Burschenwolt, 
all  said  likewise ;  and  as  I  perceived  that  they  were 
about  to  commence 'drinking,  and  knew  not  what  the 
influence  of  liquor  might  tempt  them  to,  I  used  discre 
tion,  and  prudently  forbore  my  intention  of  appearing 
among  them  that  night — choosing  rather  to'slink  away 
unperceived,  and  wait  for  Burschenwolt  in  the  loneli 
ness  and  darkness  of  my  tent. 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  35 

You  may  think,  dear  C ,  that  the  prospect  is 

not  very  encouraging  for  me,  but  have  patience.  I 
may  possibly  be  some  day  knocked  on  the  head,  by 
reason  of  the  present  stigma  of  my  profession  ;  but  if 
I  survive  such  risks,  the  day  may  not  be  far  distant 
when  they  will  be  obliged  to  come,  in  penitence  and 
tears,  to  seek  the  relief  which  I  alone  will  then  be  able 
to  afford  them.  —  So  now,  for  the  present,  adieu ! 


30  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 


V. 


DEAR  C :  I  can  find  no  better  opportunity  than 

the  present  for  telling  you  our  manner  of  life ;  and,  as 
one  day  is  pretty  much  like  another,  a  very  few  words 
will  let  you  into  the  whole  mystery. 

I  generally  awake  very  early,  but  do  not  always  get 
up  immediately.  Instead  thereof,  I  lie  still  under  my 
warm  blankets,  collecting  my  faculties  for  the  day,  and 
enjoying  that  quiet  half-hour  before  rising  which  every 
lazy  man  knows  how  to  appreciate.  As  I  gradually 
get  more  thoroughly  awake,  I  lift  my  head  slightly,  and 
take  an  observation  of  all  things  about  me.  First,  I 
survey  our  residence  with  peculiar  satisfaction,  for 
there  are  few  or  no  tents  in  the  place  which  have  more 
of  an  air  of  luxury  and  comfort.  The  placing  one  tent 
before  another,  so  as  to  form  an  ante-chamber  for  our 
baggage  and  provisions,  and  an  inner  apartment  for 
our  dormitory,  was  a  great  card,  and  attracted  consid 
erable  admiration  among  the  other  miners.  But,  in 
addition  to  this,  we  put  up  sundry  shelves  for  the  sup 
port  of  our  commodities,  and  hung  our  arms  and  other 
implements  from  the  ridge-pole  with  tasty  fastenings  ; 
so  that  we  quite  distanced  our  neighbors  in  point  of 
refinement — and,  indeed,  have  seriously  thought  about 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA   LAW.  37 

giving  a  grand  house-warrning  of  sea-biscuit,  fried  liver, 
and  hot  whiskey.  In  short,  if  style  and  splendor  of 
living  were  held  in  proper  appreciation  here,  as  else 
where,  and  I  could  wash  myself  from  the  stigma  of  my 
profession,  I  verily  believe  that  I  would  stand  a  good 
chance  of  obtaining  office  in  the  settlement :  but,  un 
fortunately,  I  am  a  lawyer,  and  the  miners  hold  true 
bone  and  muscle  in  too  much  respect  to  be  fascinated 
by  any  glitter  of  aristocratic  show  which  I  can  make. 

Having  contemplated  my  apartments  with  the  proper 
amount  of  satisfaction,  and  gradually  suffered  my  eye 
to  drop  from  the  rifle  at  the  top  to  the  bag  of  beans  on 
the  floor,  and,  moreover,  casually  glanced  at  Burschen- 
wolt,  who  lies  snoring  at  my  side,  I  look  without. 
Memnon  is  before  the  door,  kindling  a  fire  or  frying 
pork  at  one  already  kindled ;  and  alternately  swearing, 
singing,  and  talking  to  the  mules,  as  he  snaps  the  dry 
fagots  in  two,  or  sprinkles  pepper  and  salt  upon  the 
stewrpan.  Occasionally  he  sets  down  the  pan,  and 
straggles  off  to  bait  our  animals  with  a  fresh  wisp  of 
straw ;  but  never  fails  to  dart  back,  after  a  minute  or 
two,  and  swears  very  heartily  if  he  finds  a  little  corner 
of  a  piece  of  pork  has  been  too  much  burnt  in  his 
absence. 

But  now  the  sun,  which  has  before  been  obscured 
by  the  thick  mist  that  rolls  up  from  the  distant  hills, 
begins  to  burst  forth ;  and  a  little  irregular,  red  ball 
peers  through  the  scattering  rifts,  like  an  eye.  The 

4 


38  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

sounds  of  life  and  animation  begin  to  prevail  over  the 
plain  ;  and  occasionally  a  miner,  with  his  shovel  on  his 
shoulder,  passes  my  tent  on  his  way  to  his  favorite 
gulch.  It  is  evidently  time  for  me  to  get  up. 

In  a  minute  more  I  have  on  my  clothes,  and  am  as 
sisting  Memnon.  His  soul  has  been  previously  wor 
ried  with  divided  attentions  to  frying-pan  and  coffee 
pot  ;  but  now  we  practise  the  doctrine  of  division  of 
labor,  and  soon  manage  to  expedite  matters.  In  a 
short  time  everything  is  nicely  arranged  before  us  ; 
and  then  Burschenwolt  rolls  out,  with  his  meerschaam 
in  his  hand,  as  though  he  had  slept  with  it. 

He  apologizes  for  not  coming  before  to  assist  us.  I 
accept  his  apology  with  a  good  grace,  for  I  acquit  him 
of  any  design  of  sponging  upon  our  labors,  knowing 
well  that  he  has  the  will  to  awake  early,  but  his  body 
will  not  give  him  the  way.  He  promises  amend 
ment.  I  listen  with  a  smile,  for  I  have  heard  him  say 
the  same  thing  often  before.  He  requests  me  to  awa 
ken  him  the  next  morning  early.  I  promise  to  do  so, 
but  inwardly  determine  not  to ;  for  he  looks  so  com 
fortable  in  his  dreams,  that  I  can  not  have  the  heart  to 
disturb  him.  He  tells  me  that  he  dreamed  as  he  was 
in  Gottingen.  I  point  to  the  swimming  pieces  of  fat 
pork,  and  ask  whether  Gottingen  can  furnish  a  meal 
like  that.  So,  with  infinite  good  humor,  we  sit  down 
and  crack  our  jokes  and  hard  biscuit  together. 

Breakfast  over,  Memnon  commences  to  wash  up  the 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  39 

tin  plates  and  cups,  and  I  put  the  panniers  upon  the 
horse  ;  while  Burschenwolt  lights  his  meerschaam  and 
sits  down  to  smoke,  playing  with  the  coyote  the  while. 
I  ask  him  whether  he  is  not  going  to  work  to-day.  He 
tells  me  that,  as  he  has  got  nothing  yet  from  his  hole, 
he  is  certain  as  there  can  be  nothing  there.  Once  he 
told  me  that,  as  he  picked  out  a  good  lump  the  day 
before,  he  was  certain  as  there  could  be  none  left. 
And  then  he  invariably  ends  up  with  wishing  as  he 
was  in  Gottingen  again.  I  ask  him  to  start  a  new  hole 
with  rne,  suggesting  that  we  can  work  more  effectually 
in  company.  He  thanks  me,  but  believes  as  he  is  not 
quite  well.  So  Memnon  and  I  take  our  implements, 
drive  the  horse  forward,  and  depart. 

Having  arrived  at  our  favorite  gully,  we  take  the 
pick  and  shovel,  and,  bending  forward,  commence 
loosening  the  heavy  superstructure  of  stones,  prepara 
tory  to  getting  at  the  valuable  soil  below.  In  this  way 
we  clear  off  two  or  three  feet  of  the  surface,  which  we 
throw  away  as  worthless.  It  is  very  tough  work,  and 
pretty  soon  we  feel  as  though  our  back-bones  were  tied 
up  in  very  complicated  knots.  Still  we  keep  at  it,  un 
til  the  knots  are  tied  up  so  tightly  that  it  is  impossible 
to  continue.  Then  I  drop  the  shovel,  and  look  at 
Memnon.  He  drops  his  pick  and  looks  at  me,  for  he 
knows  what  is  coming.  I  put  my  hand  in  my  pocket 
and  draw  out  my  pipe.  ,  He  does  the  same.  Then 
we  sit  down  on  the  rock  and  take  a  good  long  smoke. 


40  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

Meanwhile  the  horse  stands  by  with  his  empty  panniers 
hanging  over  his  back,  and  looks  at  us  with  carious 
gaze,  as  though  wondering  what  inducement  men  can 
find  to  move  them  to  pass  their  time  in  collecting  so 
much  dirt,  when  fresh  grass,  according  to  his  notions, 
would  be  so  much  more  valuable. 

By  this  time  it  is  noon.  So,  after  our  smoke,  we 
load  up  the  panniers,  and  travel  down  to  the  brook 
where  our  rockers  are  placed.  Repeated  journeys  as 
sist  us  in  collecting  quite  a  pile  of  earth ;  and,  when 
that  business  is  finished,  we  both  feel  the  want  of  a 
little  dinner.  , 

Returning  to  the  tent,  we  find  JBurschenwolt  still 
smoking  his  pipe  ;  but,  in  the  meantime,  he  has  pre 
pared  our  meal,  which  is  not  only  cooked  nicely,  but 
also  served  up  with  all  the  style  which  our  limited  ma 
terials  admit  of.  We  fall  to ;  then  take  another  pipe, 
at  which  Burschenwolt  joins  us  with  avidity,  as  though 
he  had  n't  been  at  it  all  day  ;  and  after  that,  with  a  sigh 
we  tear  ourselves  away,  and  betake  ourselves  to  the 
rocker,  for  the  purpose  of  washing  out  the  earth  we 
have  collected. 

Another  back-breaking  operation  commences,  and 
with  ever-varying  results.  Sometimes  we  get  out  an 
ounce,  and  consider  ourselves  lucky ;  at  other  times 
we  find  but  a  dollar  or  two,  and  then  we  bewail  our 
miserable  lot  in  terms  affecting  enough  to  move  the 
genius  of  the  place  in  our  fayor,  if  there  were  such  a 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  41 

person.  Once,  after  working  hard  all  day  without  any 
better  result  than  a  few  shillings'  worth  of  gold,  we 
turned  the  last  panful  of  earth  into  the  rocker;  and 
while  Memnon  was  giving  the  last  shake,  and  evidently 
unbottling  his  supply  of  oaths  for  speedy  use,  a  bright 
piece  of  gold,  worth  over  twenty  dollars,  appeared,  and 
changed  our  sorrow  into  joy.  Whatever  our  luck, 
however,  we  always  return  before  dark,  for  the  wash- 
pan  is  needed  in  the  preparation  of  our  slapjacks,  and 
after  that  the  horse  and  mules  must  have  their  supply 
of  meal  from  it. 

So  the  labors  of  the  day  conclude.  Each  evening, 
after  we  have  supped,  I  feel  called  upon  to  state  that 
mining  is  all  •  a  lottery,  as  though  it  was  an  original 
discovery  of  my  own  ;  and  Memnon  invariably  re 
sponds  with  a' "Yes,  sar!"  Burschenwolt  also  adds 
his  testimony  to  the  fact,  expresses  his  opinion  that  it 
is  a  very  poor  kind  of  lottery,  and  wishes  as  he  was 
in  Gottingen. 

"  I  should  think,"  said  I,  one  evening,  after  my  as 
tonishing  remark  had  elicited  the  customary  responses 
—  "I  should  think  you  would  do  better  in  the  settle 
ments." 

"  Why  you  say  so  ?" 

"You  are  a  man  of  talent,  and  of  a  kind  which  is 
peculiarly  fitted  for  this  country.  You  understand 
geology  and  mineralogy  to  perfection.  Could  you  not 
get  some  employment  in  making  surveys  of  the  country, 

4* 


42  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

and  thus  assist  those  who,  wishing  to  develop  the  real 
resources  of  the  land,  and  having  the  capital  to  work 
with,  lack  the  talent?" 

Burschenwolt  knocked  the  ashes  out  of  his  pipe, 
filled  up  again,  and,  for  a  minute  or  two,  sat  smoking 
in  a  very  melancholy  mood.  At  length  he  spoke : — 

"  Try  it  once.     That  enough  for  me." 

"How  so?". 

"  Year  ago,  I  land  in  this  country.  I  have  three 
hundreds  dollars.  I  want  to  go  prospecting,  but  no 
one  want  to  hire  me.  I  say  I  good  geologist,  miner 
alogist,  botanist,  naturalist,  and  all  that  —  but  no  good. 
At  last  one  man  say  to  me,  '  You  know  for  to  survey  ?' 
I  tell  him  I  do,  'and  he  want  me  to  lay  out  city  for 
him.  He  promise  as  he  would  give  me  twenty  dollars 
a  day." 

"  I  consider  that  a  very  fair  opening,"  I  said. 

"Wait,"  said  Burschenwolt;  "you  then  see!  — 
Where  I  go  to  lay  out  city,  it  all  flat ;  no  trees  —  no 
houses.  I  work  three  months  and  finish.  My  three 
hundreds  dollars  all  gone,  for  I  must  eat !  Never  mind 
' — I  take  no  care.  My  employer  owe  me  'most  two 
thousands  dollars,  I  say.  I  go  to  him,  and  he  say  he 
have  no  money,  and  that  I  must  take  my  pay  in  his 
city  lots.  He  give  me  twenty  lots.  What  I  want 
of  them  ?  The  city  turn  out  a  failure.  My  money 
gone  —  no  other  employment  for  me.  So  I  come 
here." 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  43 

11  That  was  rascally,"  I  said. 

"  Sure  !"  Burschenwolt  replied  ;  "  what  I  want  city 
lots  for?" 

"  But  they  may  rise  in  value." 

"  Never  good  for  anything:  too  many  cities.  How 
ever,  when  I  leave,  I  show  lots  to  lawyer,  and  tell  him, 
if  ever  good  for  anything,  to  sell  out,  and  I  give  him 
part.  But  what  use  ?  I  go  down  eight  months  ago, 
and  only  one  house  there.  No  —  give  me  half  my 
two  thousands  dollars,  and  I  give  you  my  dam  city 
lots!" 

The  retrospect  of  his  troubles  made  Burschenwolt 
very  melancholy  for  a  few  minutes ;  and,  sinking  his 
head  in  his  hands,  he  appeared  plunged  into  deep  re 
flection.  By-and-by  he  arose,  and,  without  speaking 
a  word,  went  into  the  tent,  threw  off  his  coat,  and  lay 
down  beneath  his  blankets. 

The  watchfire  began  to  burn  low  ere  I  retired  ;  but 
at  length  I  also  went  in,  and  lay  down  by  the  side  of 
my  companion.  Looking  through  the  open  door,  I 
could  see  the  stars  glimmering  in  the  heavens ;  and, 
as  I  marked  their  peaceful  light,  I  felt  enraged  almost 
that  they  could  shine  down  so  quietly  when  so  much 
wrong  and  injury  was  being  transacted  upon  earth. 
Even  the  coyote  seemed  to  have  the  same  thoughts ; 
for  t  could  see  him  walking  restlessly  up  and  down, 
dragging  his  chain  after  him,  and  baying  the  sky  with 
the  most  deafening  howls.  Once  I  thought  that  the 


44  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

noise  had  awakened  Burschenwolt,  for  he  turned  over 
upon  the  other  side  and  muttered  something ;  but,  as 
I  leaned  over  to  catch  the  sound,  I  heard  only  the 
word  "  Gottingen" —  and  then  I  knew  that  he  was 
still  asleep. 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  45 


VI. 


ONE  evening,  as  I  sat  in  the  door  of  my  tent,  rolling 
the  few  grains  of  gold  in  my  little  buckskin  purse,  as 
I  held  it  between  my  thumb  and  fore-finger,  and  won 
dering  whether  the  purse  would  ever  get  full,  and  how 
much  it  would  then  be  worth,  I  noticed  a  strange-look 
ing  figure  approaching.  The  man  must  have  been  full 
six  feet  two  inches  in  height,  and  possessed  a  counte 
nance  in  which  the  strangest  compound  of  character 
was  written  that  I  had  ever  seen.  He  appeared  bold 
and  determined,  yet  shy  and  reserved.  There  were 
the  signs  of  education,  even  genius,  in  his  high  and 
broad  forehead  ;  and  yet  the  lower  part  of  his  face 
showed,  not  vulgarity,  but  an  evident  acquaintance 
with  vulgarity,  which  might  some  time  degenerate  into 
the  extreme  of  coarseness.  Though,  from  every  mo 
tion  he  made,  and  from  the  little  proprieties  he  made 
use  of,  evidently  unconsciously  to  himself,  I  was  con 
vinced  he  must  some  day  have  seen  the  best  of  society, 
and  not  been  able  entirely  to  warp  his  mind  from  its 
influence,  yet  a  certain  hatred  of  the  world  and  disgust 
of  everything  but  the  backwoods  seemed  to  shade  every 
feature  of  his  face. 

In  costume,  he  was  just  as  peculiar.     Long,  loose 


46  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

pantaloons  of  white  duck  almost  covered  his  feet,  and 
were  only  held  up  by  a  red-silk  sash  tied  tightly  about 
his  waist.  So  far,  you  would  have  taken  him  for  a 
sailor,  but  the  next  step  destroyed  any  such  hypothe 
sis  ;  for  a  thick  Mexican  poncho  hung  about  him  from 
his  neck.  A  luxuriant  black  beard  streamed  down  in 
front  half  way  to  his  waist ;  and  a  large  blue  handker 
chief  was  tied  about  his  head  in  place  of  a  hat,  and 
was  arranged  with  considerable  taste  in  large  folds  so 
as  to  resemble  a  turban  as  much  as  anything  else. 
And,  in  spite  of  the  singularity  of  such  a  costume,  it 
was  scrupulously  neat,  and  on  him  looked  well,  though 
it  might  have  appeared  hideously  upon  any  one  else  : 
for  the  wearer,  setting  aside  those  certain  contradictory 
expressions  of  his  features  which  I  have  mentioned, 
and  which  to  many  people  would  not  have  appeared 
at  first  sight,  was  rather  a  handsome  man,  and  yet  in 
his  prime,  being  apparently  not  over  thirty  years  old. 

"  Who  is  he?"  I  inquired  of  Burschenwolt. 

"  '  Gobin,'  they  call  him.  There  his  dog  after  him. 
They  call  dog  *  Gobinette,'  or  '  Little  Gobin.'  See  — 
they  no  look  alike?" 

I  confessed,  when  I  looked  at  the  little  terrier,  trip 
ping  along  behind  his  master,  that  I  could  not  see 
much  resemblance  ;  but  waiving  the  discussion  of  that 
question,  I  inquired  who  Gobin  might  be. 

"Who  knows?  Some  say  he  Scotchman  —  some 
say  from  Tennessee.  Many  try  to  find  out ;  no  use, 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  47 

though.  He  must  just  be  back  from  settlements,  for 
no  seen  him  for  long  time." 

"  Well,  I  must  get  acquainted  with  you,  my  good 
friend  Gobin,"  I  said,  as  I  watched  his  retreating 
figure. 

"Hard  thing  to  do,"  muttered  Burschenwolt ;  and 
we  said  no  more  on  that  subject. 

I  found,  upon  inquiry,  that  it  was  an  exceedingly 
hard  thing  to  do ;  for  many  had  made  overtures  of 
friendship,  which  had  all  been  repulsed  —  some  neg 
lectfully,  and  some  a  little  too  bluntly  to  go  down  well 
with  the  social  spirit  of  the  great  mass  of  the  miners. 
My  curiosity,  however,  had  been  excited,  and  I  deter 
mined  to  make  the  effort  whenever  a  suitable  opportu 
nity  should  offer. 

The  next  evening,  Gobin  passed,  on  his  way  home, 
at  about  the  same  hour ;  and,  as  he  came  within  a  few 
paces  of  our  campfire,  I  ventured  a  "  Good-evening  !" 
He  merely  looked  at  me,  however,  and  walked  on  a 
little  more  quickly,  while  Gobinette  showed  his  teeth 
and  snarled. 

The  next  night,  however,  he  returned  my  saluta 
tion  ;  while  his  dog  merely  lowered  his  head  sullenly, 
arid  trotted  on  silently.  The  third  night,  I  asked  him 
if  he  would  have  some  tobacco,  which  he  declined, 
stating  that  he  had  plenty.  The  fourth  night,  he  said 
he  would  have  some,  if  it  was  of  the  right  quality. 
Probably  finding  it  to  be  of  the  right  quality,  he  came 


48  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

for  some  on  the  fifth  night  without  waiting  for  an  invi 
tation.  Then  for  some  days  I  saw  nothing  of  him, 
and  began  to  fear  lest  he  had  escaped  me,  after  all  — 
when,  one  morning,  as  I  was  resting  myself  on  the 
top  of  my  shovel,  and  waiting  for  Memnon,  who  had 
gone  back  to  the  stream  to  fill  the  canteens  with  water, 
Gobin  came  striding  over  the  hill,  seated  himself  within 
a  pace  of  me,  motioned  Gobinette  to  lie  down  at  his 
side,  and  asked  me  how  I  did  this  hot  weather. 

I  told  him  I  was  well ;  and  then  there  was  a  long 
silence.  It  was  evident  that  Gobin  wished  to  say 
something  of  a  more  particular  nature  than  common, 
every-day  salutations,  and  I  judged  that  I  would  not 
be  likely  to  aid  him  by  giving  vent  to  any  indifferent 
remarks.  At  last  it  came. 

"  Stranger,  I  like  you,"  he  said. 

I  expressed  my  gratification  at  such  a  commendatory 
opinion,  and  hoped  that  nothing  would  ever  happen  to 
lower  me  in  his  present  estimation. 

"Look  here!"  said  he,  seizing  me  by  the  arm  — 
whereat  Gobinette  growled  as  though  he  were  a  sher 
iff's  dog,  assisting  in  an  arrest — "I  have  wandered 
over  most  of  this  little  world  of  ours,  and  seen  every 
variety  of  life.  I  have  lived  among  princes  and  sav 
ages —  have  slept  in  palaces  and  wigwams.  There 
have  men  of  almost  every  kind  and  character  met  with 
me  as  social  acquaintances,  but  I  have  never  yet  found 
a  friend.  I  have  longed  for  years  to  stumble  over  such 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  49 

a  rarity,  but  without  success.  No  one  whom  I  could 
trust  has  crossed  my  path ;  and,  as  year  after  year  of 
solitary  life  —  solitary  as  respects  communion  of  mind 
with  mind  I  mean,  for  much  of  my  existence  has  been 
passed  in  crowds  —  has  gone  over  me,  I  have  some 
times  been  wrought  up  to  mental  frenzy  for  want  of 
some  one  in  whom  I  could  confide.  I  am  now  tired 
of  expecting  to  meet  such  a  person,  unless  I  look  for 
him.  Will  you  be  my  friend  ?" 

I  answered  that  I  should  be  happy  to  serve  him  in 
that  capacity,  but  doubted  whether  I  should  be  able  to 
equal  his  expectations. 

"  I  expect  not  that  you  will  die  for  me,"  he  said. 
"  The  days  of  Damon  and  Pythias  have  long  passed 
away.  But  if  I  can  come,  now  and  then,  of  an  even 
ing,  and  talk  with  you,  instead  of  moping  in  the  soli 
tude  of  my  tent — and  if,  more  than  all,  I  can  be  sure 
that  whatever  confidence  I  put  in  you  shall  be  sacred 
—  it  is  all  I  ask." 

I,  of  course,  promised  all  this,  and  fervently  grasped 
the  hand  which  he  held  out  to  me.  In  doing  so,  I 
noticed  upon  one  of  his  fingers  a  large  ring  with  some 
thing  that  appeared  like  a  crest  engraved  upon  it.  He 
observed  my  curious  glance,  and  muttered  something 
about  old  associations  not  to  be  parted  with,  or  some 
words  to  similar  effect. 

"  But  come,"  he  said,  "  I  will  tell  you  my  story, 
since  we  are  to  be  friends"  —  and  the  whole  course  of 

5 


50  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

his  life  bubbled  out  before  me,  with  a  distinctness  which 
surprised  me  —  until  I  reflected  that  a  man  of  reserved 
habits  and  disposition  is  generally  the  most  apt  to  ten 
der  the  fullest  confidence  when  once  aroused,  as  though 
long  abstinence  from  confession  produced  such  an  in 
creased  appetite  as  not  easily  to  be  controlled. 

It  appeared  that  he  was  of  a  high  Canadian  family, 
and,  in  some  distant  manner,  connected  with  a  former 
governor-general.  His  real  name,  of  course,  was  not 
Gobin  —  the  latter  being  an  appellative  acquired  in  the 
West,  and  which  he  was  well  contented  to  respond  to, 
as  it  answered  all  the  purposes  of  disguise.  He.  how 
ever,  told  me  his  family  name ;  but,  for  obvious  rea 
sons,  I  will  not  ^mention  it. 

Having  begun  life  with  a  fortune,  and  considering 
a  college  career  the  most  agreeable  way  to  spend  it,  he 
entered  at  Toronto,  where,  being  of  a  finely-cultivated 
understanding,  he  bade  fair  to  run  an  honorable  career. 
This,  however,  was  interrupted  by  a  sudden  fit  of  dis 
gust  at  some  fancied  insult  from  one  of  the  professors, 
under  the  influence  of  which  he  resigned  his  place 
and  left,  covered  with  debts  of  all  kinds.  All  was  not 
lost,  however ;  for,  clearing  himself  by  the  sale  of  his 
last  paternal  acres,  and  then  having  a  few  thousand 
pounds  left,  he  entered  a  foreign  embassy,  in  which  he 
spent  most  of  the  remains  of  his  fortune.  Then,  those 
whom  he  had  considered  his  friends,  left  him ;  and  he 
returned  with  a  heart  embittered  against  the  world,  a 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  51 

feeling  of  which  he  yet  bore  the  impress.  The  sequel 
was  as  remarkable  as  any  of  the  rest  of  his  life.  He 
penetrated  the  wilds  of  Upper  Canada,  and  for  some 
time  lived  among  the  fur-hunters  and  friendly  Indians, 
by  which  he  acquired  many  of  their  customs,  and  from 
habit  began  to  like  such  an  unrestrained  kind  of  life. 
A  sudden  quarrel,  in  which  he  dangerously  wounded 
one  of  the  hunters,  obliged  him  to  flee  to  our  western 
states.  Thence  it  was  but  a  few  steps  to  California. 

"  And  there  you  have  my  life  !"  said  he,  bitterly — 
"  a  story  of  neglected  opportunities  and  headstrong 
passion.  I  have  now  become  so  used  to  the  wilder 
ness,  that  I  doubt  whether  I  could  return  to  civilized 
life  with  any  comfort ;  though  such  is  the  contradic 
tory  nature  of  mankind,  that,  in  spite  of  such  doubts, 
I  am  continually  longing  for  an  opportunity  to  retrieve 
myself.  Anyhow,  I  can  say  this :  if  I  had  had  one 
good  friend  to  counsel  me,  and  draw  me  away  from 
dissipation,  all  this  would  not  have  happened.  But 
they  were  all  alike — ready  to  consort  with  me  while 
my  money  lasted,  and  all  the  time  making  great  pro 
fessions  of  friendship  ;  but,  afterward  —  where  were 
they?"  I 

"You  should  have  married,"  said  I.  "Of  course, 
I  know  nothing  about  such  a  state,  but  they  tell  me 
that  a  wife  is  the  best  friend  a  man  can  have." 

"  Would  you  believe,"  said  he,  "  that  the  only  wo 
man  in  whom  I  could  ever  take  an  interest  I  found  in 


52  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

the  wilds  of  Tennessee,  in  a  plain,  log-built  cabin  ? 
Ay,  the  beauties  who  dazzled  society  had  no  attraction 
for  me ;  but  the  simplicity  of  one  who,  in  my  native 
place,  would  have  been  looked  down  upon  as  the  dust 
and  slime  of  the  earth,  first  made  this  heart  of  'mine 
throb  with  love.  I  would  have  lived  with  that  pure 
young  girl  in  the  meanest  cabin  ever  erected  by 'man. 
But  it  was  fated  not  to  be." 

"And  why?" 

"  Why  should  I,  the  consort  of  wandering,  rough 
hunters,  be  there  equal  with  men  who,  though  they  did 
not  begin  life  with  a  fortune,  had  their  comfortable 
houses  and  their  thriving  farms?  No  — my  suit  was 
kindly  but  decidedly  rejected  ;  and,  when  I  perse 
vered,  her  brother  ordered  me  from  his  house.  I  do 
not  complain  of  him.  I  was  a  wandering,  unsettled 
character;  and,  as  he  cared  for  his  sister,  he  did  right. 
But  the  form  of  that  young  girl  has  followed  me  across 
the  mountains  ;  and  though  she  can  never  be  mine,  yet 
I  would  die  to  do  her  service." 

I  was  about  to  make  some  answer  in  sympathy,  but 
he  stopped  me. 

"  Nay,  no  more  of  that.  I  have  told  my  tale,  that 
you  may  know  what  sort  of  a  fellow  I  am,  and  thus 
be  able  to  account  for  any  absurdities  which  you  may 
notice  in  my  conduct.  But  spare  your  sympathies, 
or  at  least  do  not  express  them  ;  for  such  talk  sounds 
too  much  like  the  hollow  courtesies  of  the  world  I 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  53 

have  left  behind  me,  to  be  real.  Let  actions  some 
time  attest  your  sense  of  sympathy.  —  And  here  comes 
your  man  Friday  :  so,  for  the  time,  farewell !" 

I  looked  up,  and  saw  Memnon  come  prancing  over 
the  hill,  with  the  well-filled  canteens  jingling  together 
over  his  shoulders ;  and  when  I  turned  again,  Gobin 
had  gone. 


54:  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 


VII. 

THE  next  morning,  I  was  enjoying  my  latter  snooze 
with  a  very  dim  perception  of  the  outward  world,  and 
a  remarkably  distinct  realization  of  the  pleasurable 
warmth  of  two  thick,  shaggy  blankets,  while  in  my 
heart  I  was  laughing  derisively  at  the  effeminacy  of 
men  who  desired  the  additional  luxury  of  sheets.  For 
I  was  very  well  satisfied  with  myself.  The  afternoon 
before,  just  as  I  was  preparing  to  leave  off  work  for 
the  night,  I  had  exhumed  a  bright  lump  of  gold  weigh 
ing  upward  of  half  a  pound.  Think  of  it,  dear  C ! 

How  many  mortgages  would  you  be  obliged  to  fore 
close,  or  notes  to  collect,  ere  you  could  make  what  I 
made  with  a  single  thump  of  my  pickaxe!  —  though, 
to  tell  the  truth,  it  is  not  every  day  that  I  dig  up  as 
much,  and  in  the  long  run  I  seriously  doubt  whether 
my  gains  will  average  those  of  a  third-rate  attorney  in 
our  eastern  home. 

But  never  mind  :  I  was  in  very  good  temper,  for 
why  should  there  not  be  another  lump  somewhere  near 
the  last,  or  perhaps  several,  and  why  should  not  some 
of  them  be  even  yet  larger?  So  I  had  about  worked 
myself  into  the  belief  that  my  fortune  was  made,  and 
that  I  should  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  throw  away 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  55 

my  rifle,  come  home,  and  buy  a  villa  on  the  Hudson, 
when  Memnon,  with  an  excited  look,  came  to  the  door. 

"Sar?" 

«  Well !" 


"  Teams  coming!" 


And  he  vanished  as  suddenly  as  he  appeared,  with 
out  further  explanation,  and  leaving  me  none  the  wiser 
for  his  information. 

What  teams?  from  where?  If  Memnon  had  told 
me  that  a  caravan  was  coming  down  from  the  moon,  I 
should  prohably  have  lain  quiet  in  my  warm  blankets, 
and  said,  "  Let  it  come  ;"  but  my  curiosity  was  now 
excited,  and,  after  a  minute,  I  rolled  out  to  take  an 
observation,  closely  followed  by  Burschenwolt. 

I  found  some  slight  commotion  in  the  settlement. 
One  of  the  more  daring  miners,  who  had  been  off  on 
a  prospecting  expedition  among  the  eastern  hills,  had 
got  back  that  morning,  after  camping  out  in  the  bushes 
part  of  the  night  a  few  miles  off;  and  had  brought  the 
information  that  some  of  the  overland  teams  were  com 
ing  in,  in  that  direction,  and  would  probably  soon  ar 
rive.  Upon  being  asked  how  many,  he  said  he  did 
not  know ;  he  had  seen  two  from  the  top  of  a  neigh 
boring  mountain,  and  perhaps  there  were  more  in  the 
gorges  between. 

The  information,  slight  as  it  was,  proved  sufficient 
to  suspend  all  work,  while  the  miners  anxiously  waited 
for  the  approach  of  the  strangers.  Some  were  desirous 


56  THE    VOLCANO   DIGGINGS  : 

of  hearing  about  friends  who  had  undertaken  the  over 
land  journey  to  the  land  of  golden  promise ;  others, 
having  no  friends  on  the  route,  possessed  a  lively  cu 
riosity  to  hear  about  the  general  prospects  of  the  sev 
eral  trains.  Some  appeared  to  dislike  the  thought  of 
the  expected  arrival,  and  prophesied  that  the  train  might 
be  a  long  one  ;  in  which  case,  if  it  tarried  with  them, 
instead  of  proceeding  at  once  to  the  settlements,  all  the 
eligible  places  for  digging  would  soon  be  occupied. 
But  the  greater  part  of  the  miners  seemed  pleased  at 
the  approach  of  any  excitement.  Among  them  I  no 
ticed  the  storekeeper,  rubbing  his  hands  in  ecstasy ; 
for  he  knew  that  the  overland  parties  generally  came 
in  with  their  provisions  pretty  much  exhausted,  and  he 
owned  sundry  barrels  of  pork  and  flour,  upon  which 
he  trusted  to  realize  a  large  profit. 

Toward  ten  o'clock,  then,  we  saw  dark  objects 
moving  over  the  rounding  top  of  one  of  the  hills.  The 
next  minute  they  proved  to  be  cattle,  for  the  big  white 
top  of  a  caravan-team  immediately  followed.  One 
more,  and  only  one,  soon  appeared  ;  and  then  the 
miners  mounted  their  horses,  or,  running  off  on  foot, 
hastened  to  the  scene,  for  the  purpose  of  scrutinizing 
the  strangers,  learning  the  news,  and  offering  assist 
ance,  if  any  was  required. 

Burschenwolt,  Memnon,  and  myself,  accordingly 
followed  the  general  example,  and  arrived  at  the  re 
quired  point  about  the  same  time  with  the  rest  of  the 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  57 

settlers.  Upon  examination,  we  found  the  first  of  the 
wagons  to  be  in  charge  of  two  raw-boned  Indiana 
youths,  of  athletic  proportions,  who  looked  as  though 
they  had  lived  with  cattle  all  their  lives,  and  whose 
only  word  with  us  was,  that  they  had  started  from  Fort 
Independence  five  months  before,  and  had  had  a  pretty 
smart  race  of  it  to  get  in  so  soon. 

Despairing  of  obtaining  any  more  news  from  these 
two  specimens,  we  rode  off  to  the  second  of  the  wag 
ons,  which  was  at  some  little  distance  off.  It  was 
drawn  by  six  oxen,  which  appeared  to  be  in  good  con 
dition  ;  and,  to  the  disappointment  of  the  storekeeper, 
the  provisions  were  not  all  exhausted  —  enough  re 
maining  to  supply  a  respectable-sized  company  for 
weeks.  A  stout,  good-looking  young  man  was  dri 
ving,  occasionally  turning  round  to  speak  to  some  one 
within. 

I  turned  to  the  back  of  the  wagon,  and  took  a  peep, 
expecting  to  find  a  sick  man,  or  perhaps  only  a  dog; 
but,  to  my  surprise,  I  beheld  quite  a  pretty-looking 
young  girl,  about  eighteen  years  old.  She  bore  such 
a  strong  family  likeness  to  the  young  man  driving,  that 
I  knew  he  must  be  her  brother.  She  was  sitting  side- 
wise,  upon  a  barrel  of  biscuit,  with  a  piece  of  knitting 
in  her  hand ;  and,  as  occasionally  she  turned  her  head 
to  take  up  a  stitch,  I  was  enabled  to  take  a  good  look 
at  her  without  being  seen. 

You  know,  dear  C — - — ,  that  we  both  have  seen  a 


58  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

great  many  pretty  girls  in  our  lifetime ;  but  I  would 
challenge  any  array  you  could  make  from  the  city,  to 
equal  this  blossom  in  the  wilderness.  Her  hair  was  — 
but  pshaw  !  you  will  not  expect  me  to  go,  novel-like, 
into  a  description.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  she  was 
beautifully  formed,  and  had  one  of  the  sweetest  expres 
sions  imaginable,  while  the  plain  dress  which  she  wore 
seemed  to  add  to  the  charming  simplicity  of  her  ap 
pearance.  I  foresaw,  at  once,  that  if  they  stayed  any 
time  in  the  settlement,  half  the  miners  would  be  get 
ting  in  love  with  her. 

I  turned  to  look  for  Burschenwolt,  in  order  to  point 
her  out  to  him,  but  he  was  gone  from  my  side.  While 
I  had  been  peeping  through  the  crevices  of  the  can 
vass,  he  had  heard  the  brother  say  something  in  Ger 
man,  and  instantly  he  had  run  to  hold  a  conversation 
with  him.  You  know  how  naturally  clannish  the  Ger 
mans  are.  This  case  was  no  exception  ;  for,  although 
the  brother  appeared  exceedingly  offish  and  reserved 
to  all  around  him,  yet  it  was  not  two  minutes  ere  he 
and  Burschenwolt  were  jabbering  away  in  High  Dutch 
with  the  greatest  volubility :  and  the  next  I  saw  of 
Burschenwolt  was  at  the  place  which  they  seemed  to 
have  selected  for  halting  and  pitching  their  tents.  Bur 
schenwolt  was  politely  helping  the  young  damsel  from 
the  wagon,  while  the  brother  stood  calmly  by,  unhitch 
ing  the  oxen,  and  looking  as  though  he  would  knock 
anybody  on  the  head  who  dared  attempt  a  like  piece 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  59 

of  intimacy.  "  Truly,"  thought  I,  "  Burschenwolt  is 
a  lucky  fellow  !"  —  but  then,  as  I  reflected  that  it  need 
ed  but  those  bright  eyes  to  set  him  crazy,  and  make 
him  lazier  than  ever,  I  felt  that  many  a  more  fortunate 
event  might  have  happened  to  him. 

"  You  see  they  leave  Tennessee  with  large  compa 
ny,"  said  Burschenwolt,  when  we  met  at  evening,  and 
I  had  had  an  opportunity  to  put  the  question  to  him ; 
"  but  when  get  this  side  of  Snowy  Range,  all  rest 
branch  off  to  Upper  Mines.  So  they  come  in  alone 
with  Indiana  boys." 

"But  who  are  they?" 

"Hoffengel  their  name.  They  come  over  from 
Germany  (I  would  be  glad  as  I  was  there !)  when 
quite  young,  and  settle  in  Tennessee.  Then  father 
and  mother  both  die  —  and  brother  left  alone  with  sis 
ter.  Then  things  no  go  right,  and  sheriff  seize  their 
house  for  debt— so  come  here  to  try  what  to  do." 

"  She  must  be  a  hardy  girl  to  stand  the  journey,"  I 
said. 

"  Ah,  her  brother  take  good  care  of  her  —  no  make 
her  work  any.  Fine  girl,  though !  Not  every  girl  as 
could  do  as  much"  —  and  I  thought  he  spoke  with 
considerable  feeling,  mingled  with  devout  admiration. 

"  You  are  fortunate  in  getting  so  soon  acquaint 
ed." 

"  Ah,  German  know  German  at  once  in  strange  coun 
try,  so  get  along  very  well.  Some  others  look  jealous 


60  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

at  me,  but  what  I  care  ?  Ah,  ha !  you  should  have 
see  Gobin." 

"What  of  him?"  I  demanded. 

"  Why,  when  he  see  who  I  talk  with,  he  turn  pale 
as  sheet ;  and  then  he  come  forward  a  step  or  two,  as 
though  want  for  knock  me  down,  and  then  go  back  as 
though  he  knew  the  girl,  but  no  want  her  to  see  him. 
Never  see  man  act  so  strange." 

In  an  instant  the  whole  thing  flashed  upon  me,  and 
I  muttered  the  words  "  Tennessee,"  "  Gobin,"  and 
"  turn  pale,"  mechanically,  in  my  amazement.  Then 
I  tried  to  banish  the  suppositions  which  arose  within 
me,  as  too  absurd  and  unlikely ;  but  still  they  returned 
with  additional  force,  as  I  reviewed  what  Burschen- 
wolt  had  told  me  of  the  poor  man's  conduct.  Hardly 
knowing  what  I  did,  I  arose,  and,  without  putting  on 
my  hat,  walked  to  the  door. 

"  Why  you  go?"  said  Burschenwolt ;  "better  stay 
for  smoke." 

"  I  must  go,"  I  merely  said  ;  and  I  left  him  with  the 
intention  of  seeking  Gobin,  and  ascertaining  whether 
my  suspicions  were  correct,  or  rather  of  discovering 
the  state  of  his  mind  ;  for  I  could  not  doubt  the  con 
nection  of  the  young  girl  with  what  he  had  told  me  the 
day  before.  But  Gobin  was  not  in  his  tent,  nor  yet  in 
the  store  ;  and  I  was  returning,  after  my  fruitless  search, 
when  I  noticed  I  was  passing  the  place  where  the  new 
comers  had  pitched  their  camp. 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  Gl 

A  large  neat  tent  had  been  carefully  stretched  over 
its  poles,  and  beside  it  stood  the  wagon ;  while  the 
oxen  were  quietly  grazing  one  side,  in  utter  uncon 
sciousness  that  this  night's  bivouac  was  not  like  the 
rest,  but  that  their  labor  was  over.  From  the  interior 
of  the  tent  a  bright  light  shone,  and  merry  voices  in 
side  assured  me  that  the  brother  and  sister  had  already 
arranged  their  few  articles  of  housekeeping,  and  were 
now  making  themselves  pleasant  at  the  successful  ter 
mination  of  their  journey  ;  and,  as  I  passed  on,  the  fold 
of  the  canvass-door  was  thrown  one  side,  and  the  young 
girl  stepped  forth. 

At  a  distance  safe  from  observation,  I  leaned  against 
a  giant  pine,  and  gazed  at  her,  as  she  looked  up  at  the 
sky,  and  seemed  to  be  muttering  her  evening  prayer. 

Never  before,  dear  C ,  had  I  seen  a  face  with  so 

much  sweetness  and  Madonna-like  expression  im 
pressed  upon  every  feature.  I  stood,  and,  as  it  were, 
drank  in  each  holy  feature  ;  and,  as  I  watched  the  trem 
bling  of  her  lips  and  the  moistened  beauty  of  her  swim 
ming  eyes,  I  almost  felt  as  if  I  could  have  worshipped 
her.  Full  of  strange,  inexplicable  feelings,  I  was  about 
to  tear  myself  away  —  when  I  heard  a  quick  step,  and 
a  scream,  and  saw  her  struggling  in  the  arms  of  Pickle 
Jack,  who,  as  usual,  was  beastly  drunk. 

"  One  kiss,  my  pretty  bird  !"  I  could  hear  him  say. 

I  was  about  to  dart  forward,  but  was  too  late ;  for 
her  brother  leaped  from  the  interior  of  the  tent,  and, 

6 


62  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

like  a  very  fury,  dashed  the  fellow  to  the  ground,  and 
then  spurned  him  with  his  foot  till  I  thought  he  would 
kill  him,  while  the  girl,  weeping  at  the  outrage,  fell 
back  within. 

"  There  will  trouble  grow  out  of  this,"  I  said  to  my 
self,  as  I  watched  the  sailor  raise  himself  slowly  and 
retire,  shaking  his  fist  at  the  brother,  and  muttering 
oath  after  oath  of  deep  revenge. 

And  I  returned  to  my  tent. 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  63 


VIII. 

MY  first  business  the  next  morning  was  to  make  a 
further  search  for  Gobin  —  to  the  furtherance  of  which 
I  even  consented  to  give  up,  for  the  time,  any  endeavor 
to  rescue  those  other  lumps  of  gold  from  their  native 
soil,  thereby  remaining  one  other  day  idle.  But  my 
search  was  short :  for  hardly  had  I  left  our  tent,  when 
I  perceived  Gobin  standing  beside  a  dwarf-oak,  at 
some  little  distance  off.  His  head-dress  was  pulled 
over  his  eyes,  and  his  head  was  bent  to  the  ground  ; 
and,  as  he  stood  without  so  much  as  moving  an  inch 
from  his  position,  it  struck  me  that  he  looked  remark 
ably  disconsolate. 

I  walked  quickly  toward  him  ;  and  then,  as  I  came 
near  enough  for  him  to  he-ar  my  footsteps,  he  started 
for  the  first  time.  I  noticed,  for  an  instant,  a  wild  gleam 
in  his  eye  —  which  confirmed  me  in  an  opinion  I  had 
already  begun  to  entertain,  that  his  peculiar  manners 
were  not  so  much  the  results  of  any  particular  eccen 
tricity,  as  the  development  of  some  slight  features  of 
hereditary  insanity,  which  the  roughness  of  western  life 
might  have  excited  in  a  frame  already  broken  down 
with  the  excesses  and  wild  irregularities  of  youthful 
dissipation.  I  felt  that,  though  his  malady  might  not 


64  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

be  sufficiently  advanced  to  attract  observation  in  per 
sons  who  were  not  well  acquainted  with  him,  yet  he 
was  in  that  state  of  mind  in  which  a  little  provocation 
might  more  fully  develop  its  seeds,  and  give  rise  to  deeds 
to  bloodshed ;  and  that,  as  I  appeared  to  be  the  only 
person  to  whom  he  had  made  any  proffers  of  friendship, 
it  was  my  duty  to  watch  over  him  carefully,  though 
without  exciting  his  observation,  and  thus  strive  to  pre 
vent  any  serious  consequences. 

"  Gobin  !"  I  said,  touching  him  on  the  shoulder. 

He  looked  at  me,  but  said  never  a  word. 

"  Why  so  sad,  man  ?     Cheer  up  a  little  bit !" 

He  stammered,  and  hesitated,  and  for  a  moment 
seemed  to  forget  that  he  had  requested  my  friendship, 
and  appeared  as  though  deliberating  whether  or  not  to 
hasten  my  departure  by  some  summary,  harsh  words. 

"You  know,  Gobin,  that  you  wished  me  to  be  your 
friend,  and  told  me  that  the  time  would  come  in  which 
I  could  test  my  feelings  by  actions.  Now  you  seem 
as  though  you  needed  counsel  of  some  kind.  Out 
with  it,  man !" 

"  Tf  you  knew  all — "  he  commenced. 

"I  do  know  all,"  I  said  —  deeming  that  he  would 
not  take  offence  if  I  saved  him  any  explanations  — 
"  about  the  German  girl  wrho  arrived  yesterday,  from 
Tennessee — your  old  love.  All  that  I  know,  as  well 
as  you  do." 

Contrary  to  my  expectations,  he  seemed  to  manifest 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  65 

no  surprise  at  my  knowledge,  unless  in  the  single  mut 
tered  exclamation,  "  How  strange  !" 

"  Not  at  all  strange,"  I  answered.  "  Any  one  who 
had  heard  your  previous  story  would  have  guessed  at 
the  same  by  marking  the  way  in  which  you  met  her. 
Why,  man,  you  must  keep  your  feelings  closer,  or  the 
whole  mine  will  notice  that  something  has  gone  amiss." 

"It's  hard  —  very  hard  !"  he  muttered. 

"  Well,  yes,"  said  I,  in  a  somewhat  doubting  tone ; 
"  but  every  one  thinks  the  same  things  when  he  is  un 
fortunate  in  his  love  affairs :  and  I  never  knew  any 
one  yet  who  did  not  bravely  get  over  it  in  a  very  short 
time.  Now,  Gobin,  let  me  tell  you  what  to  do.  Work 
hard,  and  get  your  pile.  Then  go  to  the  East  with  it ; 
rejoin  the  society  which  you  so  summarily  left ;  look 
out  for  some  girl  suitable  to  your  tastes  ;  and,  trust 
me,  the  time  will  come  when  you  will  forget  all  about 
the  German  girl  —  or,  if  not,  feel  as  though  you  were 
ready  to  dance  at  her  wedding  with  the  best  of  them." 

Very  good  advice  indeed,  and  which  every  despair 
ing  lover  gets  from  some  kind  friend  or  other,  without 
producing  the  least  effect.  In  this  case  also  it  entirely, 
failed,  for  Gobin  uttered  some  contemptuous  expres 
sion,  with  a  lip  very  much  curled  up,  and,  ere  I  could 
stop  him,  turned  upon  his  heel  and  walked  off  at  a 
very  quick  pace.  I  attempted  to  follow,  but  he  moved 
his  hand  repulsively  at  me,  and  hurried  on  still  faster. 

"  Go !"  I  muttered,  for  the  time  out  of  all  patience 
6* 


66  THE    VOLCANO   DIGGINGS: 

—  "go,  and,  in  your  sullen  fits  of  discontent,  see  if 
your  favorite  solitude  will  cool  down  your  mind  any 
better  than  the  suggestions  of  one  who  would  be  your 
friend  if  you  would  let  him." 

But,  in  a  minute,  I  cast  these  unjust  reflections 
aside,  and  felt  more  inclined  to  pity  poor  Gobin  — 
considering  that  my  advice,  though  well  meant,  was 
perhaps  rather  harshly  put ;  and  that,  with  a  little  more 
thought,  I  might  have  given  him  much  better  encour 
agement.  And,  as  I  remembered  the  almost  insane 
expression  of  his  eyes,  I  determined  to  keep  a  close 
watch  on  him,  and  if  possible,  by  salutary  treatment, 
obviate  any  unpleasant  consequences  which  might 
threaten  to  ensue. 

While  I  was  engaged  in  such  cogitations,  I  suddenly 
noticed  that  I  had  approached  the  tent  of  the  new 
comers,  and  it  struck  me  that  it  would  be  a  very  good 
idea  to  become  acquainted  with  them;  so  that,  by  get 
ting  myself  into  their  confidence,  it  might  be  possible 
to  learn  some  traits  in  Gobin's  character,  the  consider 
ation  of  which  would  enable  me  to  settle  upon  a  course 
of  action  suitable  for  the  gradual  eradication  of  his  fatal 
passion.  With  this  view  I  approached,  and  made  my 
presence  known  by  a  loud  "Hem  !"  —  and  then,  with 
the  easy  air  of  a  lounger,  endeavored  to  open  a  con 
versation. 

"  Fine  day,"  I  said. 

The  brother  was  splitting  up  some  wood,  while  the 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  67 

sister  was  sitting  upon  a  camp-stool  half  in  and  half 
out  of  the  tent-door,  and  busily  engaged  in  kneading 
up  some  flour.  As  I  made  my  original  observation, 
she  moved  back  till  the  canvass-flaps  fell  over  her  and 
hid  her  from  view ;  while  he  merely  looked  up  for  a 
minute,  and  made  some  gruff  and  inarticulate  reply. 

"  Pleasant  treatment,"  I  thought,  and  I  felt  inclined 
to  give  it  up  ;  but  I  determined  to  make  one  more  trial, 
and  so  seated  myself  upon  the  grass,  and  commenced 
playing  with  my  knife,  in  the  way  boys  play  "mumble 
the  peg."  The  brother  looked  savagely  at  me  for  a 
moment,  as  though  wishing  to  find  some  pretext  for  my 
expulsion  ;  but,  as  he  did  not  happen  to  have  the  fee- 
simple  of  the  land  near  his  tent,  there  was  nothing  left 
for  him  to  do  but  to  go  on  with  his  work,  which  he  did 
without  making  any  remarks  about  my  pastime. 

"  Been  digging  yet?"  I  said,  after  a  long  silence. 

"No,"  he  gruffly  said,  and  moved  off  a  little  way 
farther  from  me ;  while,  upon  glancing  around,  I  no 
ticed  that  his  sister  had  watched  her  opportunity,  and, 
while  I  was  not  looking,  had  drawn  her  pan  of  flour 
after  her  into  the  tent. 

"  Hem  !"  I  muttered,  pretty  thoroughly  abashed,  and 
a  longer  silence  ensued.  But  then  it  suddenly  occurred 
to  me  that  no  one  could  be  likely  to  detect  a  gentleman 
in  such  clothes  as  I  wore,  and  that  perhaps  he  thought  me 
to  be  some  mere  ignorant  loafer,  whose  society  would 
be  disreputable  and  troublesome.  "  Egad  !"  I  thought, 


68  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

"I'll  give  him  one  more  trial,  and  endeavor  to  show 
him  that,  in  one  respect,  I  am  a  little  better  than  I 
seem."  So  I  cleared  my  throat,  and  commenced 
again  : — 

"Pretty  fair  specimen  of  mountains  here,  eh?" 

"  Yes  —  but  I  haven't  time  to  talk  about  them  now," 
was  all  the  answer  I  obtained.  Still  I  persisted. 

"  Now,  your  famous  Hartz  mountains  of  Germany 
could  hardly  be  wilder  in  their  aspect  than  these.  I 
have  often  fancied  that  this  might  be  the  very  place  for 
the  dwelling  of  some  Mephistopheles." 

I  saw  I  touched  him  there,  and  in  a  favorite  spot. 
He  stopped  in  his  work  for  a  moment,  and  looked  at 
me  in  some  surprise,  as  though  wondering  how  such 
a  rough,  sailor-looking  fellow  as  I  should  speak  about 
Mephistopheles,  in  preference  to  Davy  Jones. 

''Are  you  fond  of  Goethe?"  I  asked,  seizing  the 
opportunity. 

"Passionately,"  he  exclaimed,  as  what  German  in 
a  foreign  country  is  not? 

"And  Schiller?" 

"Yes,"  he  answered,  looking  more  and  more  aston 
ished. 

"  So  am  I,"  was  my  answer.  "  How  finely  these 
lines  of  his  chime  in  with  the  present  scenery  !"  —  and 
I  repeated  a  stanza  or  two  of  the  English  translation. 
He  almost  was  ready  to  fly  into  my  arms  as  I  spoke. 

"  But  come,  I  have  already  whiled  away  too  much 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  69 

time,"  I  said,  rising  as  if  about  to  go ;  but  I  knew  that 
the  desired  impression  had  been  made,  and  that  he 
would  not  let  me  depart  without  some  further  commu 
nication.  I  was  right. 

"  Stay,"  he  said,  "  I  thought  you  were — "  and  he 
hesitated. 

"Very  probably,"  I  replied,  "for  but  few  of  my 
quondam  associates  of  the  New- York  bar  would  recog 
nise  me  now.  A  red  shirt  and  a  ragged  hat  give  but 
few  appearances  of  the  former  gentleman." 

"  And  I  have  been  rude  to  you,"  he  said,  somewhat 
painfully.  "  You  must  forgive  it,  sir.  You  know  that, 
having  my  sister  with  me,  it  is  necessary  to  be  on  our 
guard  against  forming  intimacies  with  strangers  ;  and," 
he  added,  while  his  eyes  flashed  fire,  "  I  was  obliged 
to  avenge  an  insult  to  her  only  last  night." 

"  I  am  not  one,  however,  to  insult  any  lady.  But 
good-day,"  I  said,  pretending  to  be  about  going. 

"Won't  you  stay  a  little  time  longer,  sir?  We 
need  good  company,  when  we  can  find  it." 

I  pretended  to  hesitate. 

"  And  there  comes  a  good  friend  to  join  us,"  he 
added,  pointing  to  Burschenwolt,  who  was  gayly  corn 
ing  along,  dragging  his  coyote  after  him. 

"  My  chum,"  I  said. 

"  Ah?  then  you  are  the  person  he  mentioned  to  us 
last  night.  So  stay." 

I  consented.     Burschenwolt  came  up,  the  sister  was 


70  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

encouraged  to  come  forth,  and  we  clubbed  our  re 
sources  together  for  dinner ;  and  the  upshot  of  it  all 
was,  that  we  spent  a  pleasant  and  sociable  day  together, 
and  got  very  well  acquainted. 

As  a  contrast,  while  going  home  in  the  evening,  I 
stepped  into  the  store — where,  in  consequence  of  my 
not  as  yet  having  developed  any  of  my  lawyer-like 
ways,  and  also  having  been  seen  digging  "  like  any 
other  Christian,"  as  some  said,  I  was  tolerably  well 
received ;  it  being  deemed  that  I  had  been  converted 
from  the  error  of  my  way,  and,  as  such,  had  altogether 
dropped  my  professional  character.  Kentucky,  as 
usual,  was  sitting  on  the  counter ;  while  Pickle  Jack, 
drunk  as  ever,  and  with  his  face  so  much  swollen  from 
the  beating  he  had  received,  that  he  looked  like  a  per 
fect  demon,  was  detailing  his  grievances  to  the  little 
crowd  that  stood  about  him. 

"And  so,  you  see,  he  took  me  unaware,  and  d — n 
him,  see  my  eye !"  pointing  to  the  swollen  lid  —  "and 
just  because  I  kissed  the  little  bird  he  has  with  him, 
and  who  ought  not  to  be  ashamed  to  be  kissed  by  a 
Yankee  sailor." 

"  To  be  sure,"  murmured  the  crowd,  whom  he  had 
just  treated. 

"  And,  d— n  him  !  I'll  have  his  heart's  blood  !  I'll 
shoot  him  to-morrow !" 

This  began  to  look  serious,  and  some  endeavored 
to  soothe  Pickle  Jack,  but  with  no  effect.  He  still 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  71 

swore  that  he  would  kill  the  poor  German  brother, 
and  thus  have  his  revenge  ;  and  very  few  there  doubted 
that  he  would  probably  do  so,  if  he  had  an  opportu 
nity.  But,  at  last,  Kentucky  hit  upon  a  scheme  to 
pacify  him  : — 

"  No,  no,  Jack,  but  I  calculate  there's  a  better  way. 
Why  don't  you  marry  the  girl?" 

"What?" 

"  Marry  the  girl!  Don't  you  suppose  she  would 
be  glad  to  get  a  good-looking  fellow  like  you  ?  What 
girl  would  n't  want  to  marry  the  Yankee  sailor  ?" 

"  To  be  sure !"  said  the  rest  of  the  crowd,  as  they 
filled  up  again. 

"  And  as  for  her  poor  devil  of  a  brother,"  continued 
Kentucky,  "  let  him  live,  so  that  he  may  see  the  girl 
with  you  at  her  side.  He  probably  wants  her  to  marry 
some  white-livered  fool  like  himself;  but  let  him  live, 
to  see  her  run  off  with  the  Yankee  sailor.  There's 
your  revenge  :  marry  her,  Pickle  Jack  —  marry  her!" 

"  Ship  ahoy!"  roared  Pickle  Jack,  setting  aside  his 
sanguinary  intentions,  as  the  idea  struck  him  ;  "  I'll  do 
it,  I'll  do  it — .I'll  marry  her  —  I,  the  Yankee  sailor! 
And  boys,  remember,  we'll  have  a  grand  drunk  at  the 
wedding !" 

The  excitement,  as  each  one  then  filled  up,  and, 
under  the  impulse  of  the  strong  drink,  danced,  leaped, 
and  sung,  became  intense ;  and  I  proceeded  to  make 
my  exit,  and  retired  to  my  tent,  almost  disgusted  with 


72  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

the  whole  world.  Long  after  I  lay  down,  I  heard 
shouting  and  wrangling  in  the  distance,  and  occasion 
ally  a  pistol  fired  wantonly  in  sport ;  but  at  length,  the 
noise  began  to  die  away,  and  I  fell  asleep. 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  73 


IX. 


SUNDAY  is  perhaps  the  liveliest  day  we  have  at  the 
mines.  Some  faint  glimmer  of  early  instruction  teaches 
the  miners  that  they  must  then  leave  off  work,  which 
they  do  with  a  great  deal  of  satisfaction.  The  pick 
and  shovel  are  thrown  down  in  their  respective  holes, 
there  to  rest  until  Monday,  while  the  owners  betake 
themselves  to  other  occupations.  Some  go  out  to  cut 
wood  or  grass  for  the  week's  consumption,  which  al 
ways  seemed  to  me  to  be  very  much  like  changing  one 
"kind  of  work  for  another.  Others  rigorously  obey  the 
injunction  against  any  sort  of  work,  and,  as  a  pleasant 
alternative,  spend  the  time  in  drinking,  carousing,  and 
gambling.  All  seem  to  enjoy  the  coming  of  this  day, 
for  which  they  have  longed  through  the  whole  week, 
as  though  there  was  any  earthly  power  which  compelled 
them  to  work  at  one  time  more  than  at  another. 

The  next  day  was  Sunday.  When  I  awoke,  there 
was  a  confused  shout  near  by  from  a  party  of  men  who, 
with  great  glee,  were  shaking  up  some  whiskey  in  a 
stone  jug  ;  and,  mingled  with  it,  came  a  loud  oath  from 
a  man  who  had  just  lost  his  last  dollar  at  a  monte- 
bank  which  a  Mexican  had  spread  out  upon  the  grass 
a  little  farther  off.  And,  upon  getting  up,  I  saw  Bur- 

7 


74  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

schenwolt  sitting  in  a  corner  of  the  tent,  and  smiling 
satisfaction. 

"  Sunday  !"  he  said. 

"  Well,"  I  thought  to  myself,  "  as  you  haven't  done 
any  work  all  the  week,  I  do  n't  see  that  it  will  make 
any  very  particular  difference  in  your  pursuits."  But 
I  did  not  say  so. 

"  Now  you  can  stay  home  —  smoke  with  me.  I  tell 
you  all  about  Gottingen." 

"  Oho  !"  I  thought,  "  then  it  is  merely  company  that 
you  gain  ;  though,  ten  to  one,  before  I  have  been  with 
you  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  you  will  stray  off  to  see  the 
German  damsel,  and  I  shall  be  left  alone."  But  still 
I  did  not  say  anything,  and  in  silence  dressed  myself, 
lit  my  pipe,  and,  sitting  beside  my  friend,  watched 
Memnon's  preparations  for  breakfast. 

Just  then,  however,  we  noticed  that  a  man  ran  tow 
ard  the  party  of  drinkers,  and  said  something  to  them 
in  an  excited  manner ;  whereupon  they  all  jumped  up, 
thrust  the  jug  aside,  and  scampered  off  to  their  several 
tents.  The  monte-banker,  who  had  leaned  forward  to 
hear  the  communication,  swept  his  money  quickly  into 
his  canvass-bag,  and  followed  suit ;  and  in  a  moment 
more  we  perceived  a  growing  excitement  all  over  the 
mine  —  some  getting  outv  their  arms,  and  others  sad 
dling  their  mules,  in  a  great  degree  of  impetuous  haste. 
Being  of  a  somewhat  curious  nature,  I  accordingly  sent 
Memnon  to  learn  what  was  the  matter,  while  I  attended 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  75 

to  the  slapjacks  ;  and  soon  back  he  carne,  his  eyes  stick 
ing  out  like  two  door-knobs. 

"  Well,  Memnon  ?" 

"  Gorra,  sar — Ingens  !" 

"  Well,  the  Indians  come  down  every  day.  I  don't 
see  anything  to  be  alarmed  about." 

"But  dese  come  in  night! — steal  two  mule  —  one 
horse  —  kill  one  ox  !  So  dey  go  for  to  make  up  party 
for  to  shoot  dem  !" 

Burschenwolt  started  up  in  great  animation,  and 
picked  off  his  rifle  from  its  hook — being  in  a  perfect 
transport  of  delight  at  the  prospect  of  something  unu 
sual  to  do.  As  for  me,  I  also  took  down  my  firearms, 
being  quite  ready  for  any  little  retaliatory  excursion 
into  the  mountains ;  and  ordering  Memnon  to  keep  by 
the  tent  during  our  absence,  and  saddling  our  mules, 
we  seized  a  few  pieces  of  our  flour-cake  and  pork,  and 
rode  toward  the  centre  of  the  encampment,  where  a 
considerable  party  of  men  had  already  mustered. 

There  was  Pickle  Jack,  looking  quite  wild  after  his 
debauch  of  the  previous  night,  while  his  horse  evi 
dently  bore  the  marks  of  ill  treatment,  to  judge  from 
the  torn  flanks,  where  the  long  Spanish  spur  had  been 
ruthlessly  pressed.  There  was  Kentucky,  looking  as 
cool  as  though  chasing  Indians  had  been  his  daily  pas 
time  from  his  youth  up,  and,  from  horse  to  hunting- 
knife,  appearing  the  true  embodiment  of  my  idea  of  a 
western  hunter.  There  was  Gobin,  somewhat  excited 


76  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

in  appearance,  but  having  less  of  that  peculiar,  insane 
glare  in  his  eye  than  I  had  expected  :  perhaps  that  these 
preparations  for  a  wild  hunt,  in  reviving  his  recollec 
tions  of  old  pursuits,  had  in  some  degree  restored  the 
tottering  equilibrium  of  his  mind.  There  was  the  Ger 
man  brother,  Hoffengel,  cool  and  rather  offish  in  his 
manner,  and  appearing,  by  reason  of  his  unsocial  dis 
position,  as  much  shunned  as  shunning.  And,  in  all, 
about  thirty  had  collected,  on  mules  and  horses  —  some 
their  own,  and  some  borrowed  ;  and  we  waited  but  the 
word  to  advance. 

"It's  them  Polok's  tribe  has  done  it,"  said  Ken 
tucky  ;  "  Cacoux'  men  are  not  such  cursed  varmints 
as  to  steal  their  neighbors'  beef  and  critters.  But  come, 
let's  be  off!" 

So  we  prepared  to  plunge  merrily  on  —  some  shout 
ing,  some  swearing,  and  some  laughing  —  and  each 
one,  as  it  seemed  to  me,  as  anxious  to  distinguish 
himself  by  killing  an  Indian  as  to  get  back  the  stolen 
property. 

Kentucky,  by  reason  of  his  superior  knowledge  of 
woodcraft,  was  elected  leader  by  unanimous  consent, 
and  well  he  displayed  his  capabilities  for  the  trust ;  for 
when  we  were  thus  about  to  start  off  helter-skelter  in 
almost  in  any  direction,  he  checked  us,  and  announced 
his  intention  of  first  making  an  examination,  by  way  of 
determining  the  course  in  which  the  marauders  had  de 
parted  with  their  stolen  property.  Accordingly,  direct- 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  77 

ing  us  to  keep  our  places,  he  made  a  tour  of  a  few 
hundred  yards  around  the  valley  ;  and,  soon  returning, 
announced  that  he  had  discovered  the  footprints  of  the 
missing  animals,  and  that  all  we  now  had  to  do  was  to 
follow  the  trail. 

"Yes,  boys,"  he  added,  as  we  set  off,  "it's  the 
cursed  Polok's  tribe  as  has  done  it — you  may  be  sartin 
of  that!"  His  conjecture  also  received  confirmation 
from  the  fact  that,  whereas  every  day  the  Indian  boys 
of  that  tribe  swarmed  down  upon  us  from  some  invisible 
inlets,  for  the  purpose  of  bending  all  their  energies  tow 
ard  the  acquisition  of  any  articles  which  might  lay  too 
temptingly  in  their  way,  this  morning  not  a  soul  of 
them  was  to  be  seen.  The  rascals  knew  too  well 
what  a  searching  examination  into  the  doings  of  their 
tribe  they  would  be  obliged  to  undergo  if  they  dared 
to  make  their  appearance. 

Over  hill  and  dale  we  straggled  on,  all  the  time 
keeping  the  fresh  trail  in  full  sight.  We  were,  on  the 
whole,  a  merry  party,  and  all  seemed  to  enjoy  the  ex 
pedition —  with  the  exception  of  Kentucky,  who  rode 
at  our  head  with  an  air  of  immoveable  stolidity  ;  Pickle 
Jack,  who  swore  very  much,  as  he  every  now  and  then 
lifted  his  canteen  of  liquor  to  his  mouth  ;  and  the  owner 
of  the  stolen  property,  who  appeared  rather  anxious 
and  troubled  :  and  at  last,  after  riding  some  seven  or 
eight  miles,  we  came  upon  one  of  the  Indian  villages, 
a  little  concourse  of  brush  huts  —  and  wildly  pounced 
.  7* 


78  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

down  upon  it,  witL  the  intention  of  gaining  information 
about  the  fugitives. 

The  men  belonging  to  the  village,  however,  had  all 
fled,  and  nothing  was  left  but  dogs  and  the  women, 
which  latter  sat  upon  the  ground,  pounding  acorns. 
They  scowled  at  us  fiercely,  and  appeared  not  to  un 
derstand  anything  that  was  said  to  them ;  until  Ken 
tucky,  pointing  his  pistol  at  the  head  of  an  old  wrinkled 
matron,  without  a  vestige  of  clothing  upon  her  vener 
able  person,  addressed  something  to  her  in  broken 
Spanish,  at  which  she  seemed  to  recover  her  wits,  and, 
in  the  midst  of  a  most  voluble  series  of  Indian  and 
Spanish  oaths,  pointed  to  a  defile  on  the  right. 

.  We  rode  thither,  but  found  no  trail.  Pickle  Jack 
strongly  advocated  the  expediency  of  shooting  the  old 
crone  through  the  head,  as  an  example,  and  then  ques 
tioning  another,  but  we  thought  it  would  save  time  if 
we  made  use  of  our  own  instincts  ;  and  accordingly, 
after  making  another  circuit,  as  had  been  done  at  first, 
we  struck  the  trail  again,  in  a  direction  directly  the  op 
posite  of  that  which  had  been  pointed  out  to  us,  and 
proceeded  on  our  way,  followed  by  revengeful  oaths 
from  all  the  women,  and  shrill  barking  from  all  the 
dogs. 

And  at  last,  after  journeying  some  five  or  six  miles 
farther,  the  trail  became  fresher,  and  we  came  upon 
the  fugitives.  There  were  some  fifty  or  sixty  of  the 
Indians,  about  a  hundred  rods  before  us  —  some  on 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  79 

foot,  and  some  riding  the  stolen  animals,  upon  which 
the  remains  of  the  slaughtered  ox  had  also  been  nicely 
packed.  Upon  seeing  us,  they  gave  a  loud  yell,  and 
scattered  in  different  directions  ;  and  Kentucky  giving 
the  word,  we  also  separated  in  pursuit. 

Burschenwolt  and  myself,  with  three  or  four  others, 
dived  after  a  party  of  about  a  dozen  of  the  Indians, 
while  the  rest  parted  in  another  course.  Among  other 
parties,  I  saw  Gobin,  Pickle  Jack,  and  Hoffengel, 
starting  off  after  three  Indians  who  were  endeavoring 
to  run  away,  unperceived  in  the  tumult,  with  one  of 
the  mules  among  them.  Then  the  chase  prohibited 
further  observation,  and  we  dashed  madly  on  after  our 
quota  of  the  fugitives. 

We  had  no  cause  for  bloodshed  ;  for  the  red  rascals, 
after  letting  fly  a  few  harmless  arrows,  kept  on  at  such  a 
pace  as  prohibited  us  from  having  a  fair  pop  at  them :  and 
as  we  could  perceive  that  they  had  none  of  the  spoils 
with  them,  .we  desisted  from  the  pursuit  after  a  very 
few  minutes.  Then  we  heard  Kentucky  shouting  the 
recall ;  and-  returning,  found  our  party  collected  to 
gether  in  a  small  compass.  As  we  arrived,  Hoffengel 
came  in  from  another  quarter  leading  the  mule  which 
he  had  succeeded  in  recapturing 

The  report  of  the  list  of  killed  and  wounded  was 
small,  for  no  one  upon  our  side  was  hurt.  One  of  the 
Indians  had,  however,  been  killed  by  Kentucky's  un 
erring  aim  ;  and  two  others  had  been  observed  to  yell 


80  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  .* 

and  limp  away,  as  though  they  might  have  bullets  in 
their  yielding  flesh.  The  two  mules  had  been  recap 
tured  ;  and  thinking  it  hardly  worth  while  to  continue 
the  pursuit  after  the  horse,  which  by  this  time  must 
have  been  far  beyond  our  reach,  we  set  out  on  our 
return  —  Pickle  Jack  having  first,  with  a  savage  exul 
tation  which  did  him  very  little  credit,  torn  the  scalp 
from  the  head  of  the  dead  Indian,  and  stuck  it  as  a 
trophy  upon  the  end  of  his  rifle. 

We  again  passed  through  the  village,  where  the 
sight  of  our  party,  with  the  rescued  mules,  was  greeted 
by  all  the  women  with  a  loud  and  long  howl ;  and 
where  Pickle  Jack  amused  himself  with  thrusting  the 
reeking  scalp  in  the  face  of  the  old  hag  who  had  en 
deavored  so  wofully  to  misdirect  us :  and  then  it  sud 
denly  began  to  be  inquired  where  Gobin  was.  No  one 
knew,  and  a  cursory  examination  proved  that  he  was 
not  among  us.  Pickle  Jack  and  HofFengel  both  said 
that  he  had  been  with  them,  when  the  division  of  our 
forces  had  been  made,  but  that,  in  the  pursuit,  they 
had  lost  sight  of  him.  Some  spoke  of  returning  in 
search  of  him,  but  it  seemed  a  useless  proceeding  — 
since,  if  evil  had  happened  to  him,  he  must  be  now  far 
beyond  our  assistance  ;  and,  if  he  had  not  fallen,  he 
could  easily  find  his  way  back  alone.  So  we  continued 
our  journey,  and  arrived  back  at  the  Volcano  late  in 
the  evening. 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  81 


X. 

DAY  after  day  passed  on,  and  yet  nothing  was  heard 
from  Gobin.  For  a  time,  his  fate  was  the  theme  of 
universal  conjecture ;  and  while  most  of  the  miners 
argued  that  he  must  have  been  decoyed  off  in  the 
chase,  and  slain  by  the  Indians,  there  were  a  few  who 
maintained  that  he  would  eventually  straggle  back 
again.  Thus,  by  their  discussion  of  probabilities,  they 
served  in  some  degree  to  keep  up  the  excitement;  but 
soon  other  topics  commenced  to  claim  a  share  of  con 
versation.  Gobin,  by  his  uninviting  conduct,  had 
made  too  few  friends  to  interest  the  miners  long  in 
regard  to  his  fate ;  the  subject,  once  flagging,  was  not 
renewed  ;  and,  in  a  short  time  longer,  all  gave  him  up,* 
and  a  stranger  might  have  passed  weeks  in  the  mine 
without  even  hearing  about  the  missing  man. 

As  for  myself,  so  strongly  had  I  become  interested 
in  the  eventful  career  which  Gobin,  in  his  slight  im 
pulse  of  confidence,  had  laid  open  to  me,  that  it  was 
long  ere  I  could  believe  him  to  be  dead.  For  many 
a  day  I  started  at  every  step,  expecting  to  see  the  poor 
fellow  before  me.  But  at  length,  when  I  considered 
the  chances  of  escape,  I  also  was  obliged  to  give  him 


82  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

up,  as  one  lost  from  the  world  ;  and  I  prosecuted  my 
daily  labor  with  a  saddened  and  less  hopeful  heart. 

In  the  meantime,  Burschenwolt  and  myself  were 
constantly  extending  our  acquaintance  with  the  two 
Hoffengels.  Though  cold  and  distant  before  others, 
to  us  they  were  social  and  confiding  ;  and,  as  day 
by  day  we  became  more  intimate,  we  found  new 
points  in  their  several  characters  to  admire.  Caspar 
Hoffengel  we  discovered  to  be  a  fine,  open-hearted, 
manly  fellow,  and  one  who  would  have  been  deserv 
edly  popular  with  the  miners  if  his  duties  to  the  inter 
ests  of  his  sister  had  not  compelled  him  to  maintain 
such  a  reserve ;  while  Blandina,  with  her  artless  sim 
plicity,  yet  strength  of  character,  and  her  finely-culti 
vated  mind,  which  did  not  disdain  to  descend  to  the 
minutest  details  of  the  domestic  arrangements  of  their 
tent — and  also  her  kind  and  winning  manners,  which 
a  beautiful  face  and  figure  contributed  to  adorn  —  so 
'  grew  upon  our  esteem,  that  I  ceased  to  be  surprised 
at  the  impetuosity  with  which  Gobin's  feelings  had 
carried  him  away,  and  rather  began  to  wonder  that  I 
did  not  fall  in  love  with  her  myself. 

I  was  not  in  love,  however.  Whatever  I  might  have 
done  in  different  circumstances,  it  is  hard  to  tell ;  but, 
at  the  very  first  glimmer  in  my  mind  of  such  a  possi 
bility,  I  reviewed  the  dubious  nature  of  my  worldly 
prospects,  and  the  folly  of  any  tender  sentimentality, 
and  resolutely  shut  up  my  heart  against  any  less  ra- 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  83 

tional  feeling  than  friendship.  Burschenwolt,  however, 
seemed  to  be  deterred  by  no  such  considerations  ;  and 
although  I  knew  his  yielding,  hopeful  nature,  and  utter 
want  of  foresight,  I  was  exceedingly  surprised  to  note 
the  readiness  with  which  he  yielded  himself  up  to  the 
sweet  intoxication  of  the  moment.  The  very  first  day 
of  the  Hoffengels'  arrival,  I  thought  something  was  the 
matter  with  him  ;  the  next  day,  he  went  into  raptures 
about  his  Blandina's  eyes  and  hair ;  the  third,  he  said 
nothing  about  her,  but  looked  very  spoony  and  senti 
mental  ;  and  the  fourth,  he  so  utterly  forgot  his  coyote, 
that  I  was  myself  obliged  to  see  that  the  poor  animal 
had  sufficient  food.  And,  ever  since,  he  had  aban 
doned  work,  and  substituted  deep  contemplation,  while 
he  invariably  passed  his  evenings  beside  his  divinity. 
I  often  accompanied  him,  being  always  careful  so  to 
act  as  not  to  interfere  with  him  ;  and  many  a  pleasant 
evening  we  thus  passed  together. 

One  evening,  at  a  little  after  dusk,  we  were  sitting 
together  at  the  door  of  their  tent.  Burschenwolt  was 
a  little  back  with  Blandina,  while  I  sat  somewhat  re 
moved,  with  the  brother.  Above  us  the  full  round 
moon  glistened  between  the  branches  of  the  spreading 
pines  with  so  bright  a  light,  that  everything  seemed  to 
be  thrown  in  relief  as  clearly  as  at  noonday.  The 
conversation  happened  to  turn  upon  Gobin  and  his 
supposed  fate. 

"  Poor  fellow!"  said  Caspar  Hoffengel,  "I  knew 


84  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

him  in  Tennessee.  Circumstances  there  happened  — 
no  matter  what  they  were  —  which  obliged  me  to  treat 
him  with  some  severity;  and  ever  since,  he  has  looked 
upon  me  as  an  enemy.  And  what  a  singular  coinci 
dence  was  our  meeting!" 

"And  do  you  believe  he  is  now  dead?" 
"  I  can  form  no  other  probable  conjecture.  When 
we  separated  in  our  pursuit  of  the  Indians,  he  and  the 
fellow  they  call  Pickle  Jack  chanced  to  be  with  me. 
Gobin,  upon  turning  and  seeing  me  with  himself,  was 
tempted  to  utter  some  harsh  remark.  I  forgot  myself 
so  far  as  to  make  an  equally  heated  answer.  I  forget 
what  it  was,  but  he  immediately  turned  around  and 
darted  off,  and  that  was  the  last  I  saw  of  him.  This 
fact  I  have  not  mentioned,  except  to  yourself.  There 
are  persons  so  unreasonable,  that  they  would  connect 
in  someway  his  disappearance  with  our  previous  quar 
rel  ;  and  it  is  best  not  to  act  in  such  a  way  that  any 
one  could  have  unpleasant  feelings  toward  me." 

"  Of  course,  I  would  be  the  last  to  mention  such  a 
thing,"  I  said  ;  but,  upon  casually  turning  my  head,  I 
was  startled  to  see  the  face  of  Pickle  Jack,  grinning  at 
us  from  behind  the  pine  which  grew  before  the  door. 
He  had  evidently  heard  every  word  which  we  had 
said ;  and  while  he  shuffled  away,  ere  Hoffengel  was 
aware  of  what  had  attracted  my  gaze,  there  was  a  tri 
umphant  leer  in  the  fellow's  countenance  which  I  did 
not  more  than  half  like.  Still  I  endeavored  to  reassure 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  85 

myself  with  the  reflection  that  the  rascal,  in  spite  of 
his  knowledge  of  such  a  fact,  could  do  no  injury ; 
but  all  the  while  there  was  a  certain  vague  foreboding 
of  coming  mischief  floating  upon  the  current  of  my 
thoughts,  under  the  influence  of  which  I  became  mo 
rose  and  less  sociable,  and  ultimately  took  my  de 
parture. 

My  forebodings  were  not  without  foundation.  Upon 
the  next  evening,  I  observed  Pickle  Jack,  with  a  crowd 
of  listeners  around  him,  eagerly  discussing  some  topic 
of  interest.  I  approached,  but  the  party  separated,  as 
though  I  was  not  a  fit  recipient  of  their  confidence. 
But,  in  a  few  minutes  after,  I  saw  another  crowd  a 
little  way  off;  and,  before  long,  several  little  parties 
were  intently  engaged  in  conversation  at  different  points 
—  though,  as  they  silently  dispersed  whenever  I  came 
near  them,  I  was  unable  to  learn  the  purport  of  their 
discussion.  I  could  not  doubt,  however,  that  some 
plan  was  in  contemplation  affecting  the  reputation  of 
HofTengel ;  but  (wisely  as  I  thought)  I  said  nothing 
about  the  matter,  waiting  in  silence  for  a  fuller  devel 
opment. 

It  came.  On  the  third  day,  as  I  was  walking  with 
HofFengel  to  our  hole,  which  we  had  not  long  before 
commenced  together,  five  or  six  of  the  miners,  headed 
by  Kentucky,  came  toward  us,  and  one  of  them  struck 
my  friend  smartly  upon  the  shoulder. 

"  What's  that  for?"  said  HofFengel,  starting  back. 
8 


86  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

"You  are  arrested  !"  answered  Kentucky. 

"  For  murder! — where 's  Gobin?"  screamed  Pickle 
Jack,  who  was  in  the  party. 

"Ay  !  where  is  he?"  retorted  Kentucky.  "Boys, 
at  him !" 

Hoffengel  endeavored  to  defend  himself,  but  in  an 
instant  he  was  overpowered  and  tripped  off  his  feet, 
while  his  arms  were  tightly  pinioned.  I  endeavored 
to  remonstrate,  but  without  success. 

"We  don't  want  no  lawyer-work  here,"  said  Ken 
tucky.  "  None  of  your  long  bills  for  cheating  the  gal 
lows  will  go  down  with  us."  The  rest  uttered  the 
same  delightful  sentiments  ;  and,  in  unavailing  despair, 
I  saw  my  friend  lugged  off,  like  a  bundle  of  goods,  to 
some  temporary  place  of  confinement. 

I  immediately  hurried  off  to  Burschenwolt,  and  told 
him  the  whole  story,  as  minutely  and  yet  as  shortly  as 
possible. 

"  Good  God  !"  he  cried,  starting  up  — "  and  Blan- 
dina !"  And,  without  another  word,  he  hurried  off  to 
where  the  poor  sister  was,  as  yet  ignorant  of  what  had 
transpired.  Not  wishing  to  interrupt  his  interview,  I 
remained  behind,  but  after  a  while  followed  him,  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  her  what  consolation  I  could,  as 
well  as  to  offer  my  assistance,  as  far  as  the  settlement 
would  allow  it  to  be  afforded. 

When  I  peeped  into  the  tent,  the  poor  girl  was  seated 
upon  a  chest,  with  her  head  bowed  in  her  hands,  and 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  87 

was  weeping  pitifully.  Burschenwolt  was  sitting  be 
side  her,  and  in  broken  tones  endeavoring  to  soothe 
her ;  though,  by  his  perplexed  expression,  it  was  evi 
dent  that  he  had  never  been  placed  in  such  a  situation 
before,  and  knew  but  little  the  art  of  administering 
comfort.  ^ 

I  stood  for  a  minute  looking  on  unseen,  sometimes 
ready  to  venture  in,  and  then  again  concluding  to  defer 
the  interview  to  a  calmer  and  otherwise  more  propi 
tious  moment ;  but  just  as  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to 
the  latter  course,  and  was  turning  around  to  go,  the 
slight  noise  I  made  attracted  the  poor  girl's  attention 
to  me,  and  she  sprang  up,  took  my  hand  in  hers,  drew 
me  into  the  tent,  and  bade  me  sit  down. 

"  You  are  a  lawyer,  they  tell  me  ?"  she  half  inquired, 
with  more  calmness  than  I  had  expected. 

I  answered  that  I  was. 

"  And  you  know  how  to  save  my  poor  brother?  — 
You  will  not  let  them  murder  him,  for  you  know  that 
he  is  innocent !" 

I  assured  her  that  my  confidence  in  his  innocence 
was  not  to  be  excelled,  and  that  T  would  do  all  I  could 
to  help  him  —  but  here  I  stopped.  It  seemed  cruel  to 
mention  any  doubts  of  the  issue  of  the  affair  to  the 
poor,  trembling  creature  before  me,  who  —  from  some 
vague  idea  that  a  lawyer  could  always  make  the  truth 
plain  to  the  world,  or  at  least  had  the  means  of  influ 
encing  a  body  of  men  to  the  entertaining  of  any  opin- 


88  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

ion  —  seemed  to  cringe  at  my  feet  in  supplication. 
Some  men  would  have  endeavored  to  cheer  her  with 
comforting  tales  of  certain  acquittal  and  reputation  re 
stored,  even  though  the  next  hour  might  bring  a  revul 
sion  of  despair  ten  times  hideous  from  comparison  with 
previous  assurances.  J3ut  it  always  seemed  to  me  to 
be  the  proper  plan  to  tell  the  worst  at  once,  in  every 
case,  so  that  the  mind  might  be  prepared  for  any  issue  ; 
and  this  I  now  undertook  to  do,  in  as  tender  a  manner 
as  I  could. 

I  told  her  that  no  thinking  man,  who  did  not  suffer 
his  prejudices  to  run  away  with  his  reason,  could  for  a 
moment  doubt  that  her  brother  was  perfectly  innocent 
of  the  crime  imputed  to  him ;  but  at  the  same  time  I 
explained  that  the  majority  of  the  miners  were  men 
without  any  clear  perception  of  justice,  and  that,  with 
such,  first  impressions  could  not  easily  be  eradicated. 
I  said  that  every  point  of  law  was  in  our  favor,  but 
that  the  whole  settlement  had  resolved  to  run  counter 
to  the  universally-received  legal  system,  and  that  con 
sequently  many  abuses  of  justice  might  creep  in,  with 
other  prejudices.  I  said  that  the  whole  affair  was 
doubtless  a  plot  of  Pickle  Jack,  by  which  to  obtain 
revenge  for  the  merited  chastisement  he  had  received 
a  few  evenings  previously ;  but  that  this  would  be  a 
difficult  thing  to  show,  particularly  as  her  brother  had 
made  himself  somewhat  unpopular  by  his  distant  man 
ners,  and  Pickle  Jack,  on  the  contrary,  was  rather 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  89 

liked  on  account  of  his  social  disposition.  Finally,  I 
told  her  that,  as  a  lawyer,  I  would  be  allowed  to  min 
gle  myself  but  little  in  the  affair,  but  that,  as  a  citizen 
of  the  mines,  I  would  always  claim  my  right  to  be 
heard,  and  would  thus  endeavor  to  counteract  the 
popular  feeling.  And  when  I  had  finished,  she  seemed 
to  grow  calmer — as  though,  having  heard  the  worst, 
she  had  already  prepared  herself  to  meet  it — and, 
after  a  few  moments'  silence,  thanked  me  for  what  I 
had  said  and  would  try  to  accomplish,  and  requested 
to  be  left  alone. 

"  What  you  think  of  it?"  asked  Burschenwolt,  as  we 
departed. 

"  I  think,"  said  I,  "  that  they  have  already  deter 
mined  to  hang  the  poor  fellow  —  and  that,  not  so  much 
because  they  think  that  the  evidence  supports  the 
charge,  as  because  they  believe  that  the  laws  are  too 
much  evaded  by  criminals,  and  now  wish,  by  some 
execution  or  other,  to  show  their  own  superior  wis 
dom." 

Burschenwolt  made  no  reply ;  and  in  silence  we 
proceeded  to  make  some  preparations  for  the  comfort 
of  the  poor  girl.  We  so  arranged  that  all  her  meals 
could  be  cooked  for  her  by  ourselves,  in  order  that  her 
grief  might  not  be  further  disturbed  by  private  cares  — 
and  also  pitched  our  tents  near  hers,  so  as  to  afford 
proper  protection  whenever  it  might  be  necessary  ;  and 
then,  with  heavy  hearts,  we  awaited  the  day  of  trial. 

8* 


90  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 


XI. 


THE  day  of  trial  came.  It  was  fixed  for  Sunday, 
when,  work  being  left  off,  it  seemed  as  though  the  best 
way  to  keep  the  day  holy  was  to  employ  it  in  murder 
ing  a  fellow-being.  I  would  not  say  that  the  miners 
meant  to  act  otherwise  than  right,  for  I  knew  that  they 
believed  whatever  Pickle  Jack  might  have  told  them, 
and  that,  in  accordance  with  the  story  he  was  circula 
ting,  they  doubted  not  that  Hoffengel  should  be  exe 
cuted.  But  they  were  wrong  in  suffering  their  preju 
dices  to  overrule  their  sense  of  right ;  for,  under  the 
determination  of  conducting  the  affair  themselves,  with 
out  the  intervention  of  any  "  lawyer-tricks,"  all  my 
suggestions  were  nullified,  and  I  could  hardly  say  a 
word  in  defence  of  the  accused  man  without  being  in 
sulted.  All  I  could  do  was  to  visit  the  poor  fellow  in 
the  place  where  they  had  roughly  bound  him,  and  give 
him  my  assurances  that  I  would  do  all  in  my  power  to 
assist  him,  and  that  in  the  meanwhile  his  sister  was 
well  cared  for  and  protected. 

A  hollow,  where  several  large  pines  formed  a  circle, 
was  fixed  upon  as  the  court.  At  one  side,  Kentucky 
was  seated  as  judge,  he  having  been  elected  to  that 
post  the  night  before.  The  prisoner,  still  bound,  was 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  91 

placed  in  the  middle  ;  while  in  every  direction  around 
were  the  spectators,  among  whom  was  Pickle  Jack, 
with  a  devilish  glare  of  triumph  in  his  eyes,  and  his 
rifle  in  his  hand,  with  which  he  said  he  meant  to  shoot 
down  the  prisoner  should  he  endeavor  to  escape.  It 
was  a  useless  threat,  since  poor  Hoffengel  was  too 
much  weakened  by  confinement  and  agony  of  mind  to 
think  of  such  a  thing.  And,  a  little  farther  removed, 
were  a  few  Indian  boys,  who  had  lately  begun  to  strag 
gle  back  to  the  mine,  and,  finding  that  nothing  was 
done  to  them,  waxed  as  impudent  as  ever. 

The  court  being  considered  opened,  some  discus 
sion  arose  as  to  what  should  first  be  done,  when  it  was 
suggested  that  a  jury  should  be  empanelled.  This 
was  considered  a  very  bright  thought,  and  then  the 
number  came  under  debate.  I  remarked  that  twelve 
was  the  common  number ;  whereupon,  with  the  usual 
contrariety,  the  court  stated  that  six  would  be  enough. 
And,  in  forming  the  jury,  an  equally-wise  policy  was 
adopted  :  whoever  first  offered  himself  being  accepted, 
with  the  exception  of  Burschenwolt  and  myself — who, 
upon  coming  forward,  were  rejected,  on  the  ground 
that  we  were  prejudiced  in  favor  of  the  prisoner.  Upon 
remarking  that  those  already  chosen  were  prejudiced 
against  him,  which  was  worse,  I  was  told  to  shut  up, 
for  that  no  "  lawyer-tricks"  were  wanted  there  ;  and 
seeing  that  anything  I  could  say  would  only  operate 
the  wrong  way,  by  still  further  turning  the  popular 


92  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

prejudice  against  the  prisoner,  I  let  the  matter  drop, 
and  said  nothing  more. 

Examination  of  witnesses  was  then  about  to  be  com 
menced,  when  I  suggested  that  the  prisoner  should  be 
informed  of  what  he  was  accused. 

"  Murder,  of  course,"  said  Kentucky. 

"Of whom?  where?  when?  how?"  said  I.  "All 
these  things  are  important." 

These  remarks  were  received  with  more  favor  than 
I  had  expected,  for  their  sense  seemed  to  impress 
itself  upon  the  minds  of  all.  There  was  a  moment's 
silence,  until  Kentucky  exclaimed  — 

"I  tell  you  what,  fellow,  hadn't  we  better  write  it 
down,  and  then  we'll  have  it  all  right?" 

"  Is  n't  that  what  lawyers  always  do  ?"  one  inquired, 
with  a  sneer;  "because,  if  it  is,  we  don't  want  none 
of  it!" 

"  Why,"  I  answered,  venturing  on  a  lie,  as  I  saw 
it  would  assist  the  prisoner  against  the  combination 
formed  about  him,  "  it  is  sometimes  so ;  but,  in  most 
cases,  they  merely  say  what  has  been  done,  and  re 
member  it." 

.  "  'T  is  n't  right !"  said  Kentucky,  as  I  had  expected. 
"'Toughter  be  writ  down,  for  perhaps  they  can't  al 
ways  remember  it,  and  then  they'd  have  to  go  all  over 
it  agen.  —  Texas  !"  he  continued,  calling  out  to  a  rough- 
looking  individual  from  that  state,  who  wore  a  Spanish 
poncho  wrapped  about  his  knotted  limbs,  "  they  say 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  93 

you  can  write  :  now  jest  go  and  put  down  the  charge 
on  paper,  so  as  we  can  all  know  what  is  meant." 

For  the  first  time,  HofFengel  raised  his  head,  and 
he  gave  me  a  quick,  meaning  glance  of  grateful  feel 
ing  ;  while  Texas,  first,  stopping  to  light  his  pipe,  strag 
gled  off  to  his  tent,  to  look  after  some  paper.  There 
was  then  a  suspension  of  proceedings,  while  we  awaited 
his  return,  during  which  the  bottle  and  tobacco  were 
circulated  freely.  At  last  Texas  strolled  back,  holding 
in  his  hand  a  dirty  scrap  of  paper,  upon  which  was 
written  the  indictment,  as  follows  : — 

"  While  we  w7ere  out  after  Polok's  varmints,  Gaspar 
HofFengel  murdered  a  fellow  named  Gobin,  and  says 
he  didn't  do  it.  So  we  have  come  together  to  try 
him,  and  find  out  whether  it  is  true  that  he  didn't  do 
what  he  says  he  didn't  do." 

This  specimen  of  criminal  composition  seemed  to 
give  universal  satisfaction,  and  led  to  the  suggestion 
that  it  be  kept  in  some  safe  place  for  future  use  and 
reference.  "  Because  then,"  said  the  speaker,  "  if  so 
be  as  we  have  another  murder  case,  we  could  just  alter 
the  names  and  use  it  over  again,  which  would  be  a 
great  convenience,  and  save  time,  you  know"  —  which 
idea  being  favorably  received,  Texas  was  appointed  to 
keep  the  paper  safe.  "  What  is  this  but  a  court  clerk  ?" 
I  whispered  to  Burschenwolt. 

"No  you  don't!"  said  Texas,  though,  when  the 
office  was  proposed  to  him.  "I've  hardly  got  room 


94  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

for  my  own  traps,  and  won't  do  it,  unless  I'm  paid  for 
it  —  that's  flat!" 

"  Quite  right !"  replied  Kentucky,  snatching  at  the 
idea ;  "  and  do  you  think  I'm  goin'  to  sit  here  all  day 
without  having  any  pay  ?" 

So  chimed  in  the  jury;  and  in  the  end  it  was  de 
cided  that,  for  each  day  in  which  the  court  should  sit, 
the  judge,  clerk,  and  jury,  should  each  have  an  ounce 
for  their  trouble,  to  be  paid  for  out  of  the  funds  of  the 
prisoner. 

But  it  is  useless  to  mention,  at  full  length,  all  these 
little  disputes.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  another  person 
was  appointed  to  write  down  the  testimony ;  and  that 
so  many  other  little  offices  were  created,  that  the  grand 
system  of  justice  soon  lost  its  contemplated  simplicity, 
as  always  happens  when  ignorant  men,  for  the  purpose 
of  making  improvements,  attempt  to  meddle  with  what 
is  beyond  them.  Hardly  an  hour  had  passed,  and  we 
already  had  a  judge,  jury,  two  clerks  of  the  court,  one 
county-clerk,  a  hall  of  records,  standing  forms,  and  a 
fee-bill  in  comparison  with  which  the  most  protracted 
suit  in  a  regular  court  would  have  been  cheap  —  and 
which,  by  a  remarkable  system  of  justice,  was  invaria 
bly  to  be  paid  by  the  prisoner,  whether  guilty  or  inno 
cent.  To  be  sure,  these  officers  and  institutions  were 
not  called  by  such  names,  for  that  would  have  shocked 
the  anti-legal  propensities  of  the  miners  :  but  their  sev 
eral  powers  and  purposes  were  the  same,  and  their 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  95 

fees  ten  times  as  exorbitant.  —  But  to  the  examination 
of  witnesses  ! 

Pickle  Jack  was  first  called.  He  came  forward 
with  a  disgusting  air  of  assurance,  which,  in  any  more 
civilized  community,  would  have  at  once  almost  con 
demned  his  testimony,  mingled  as  it  was  with  the  tri 
umphant  leer  of  gratified  revenge  which  he  cast  upon 
the  prisoner.  The  swelling  about  his  face  had  entirely 
disappeared,  but  no  length  of  time  could  have  taken 
away  the  bloodshot  look  about  his  eyes,  and  the  gen 
eral  air  of  intemperate  indulgence,  caused  by  repeated 
nightly  debauches. 

"  And  now,  Pickle  Jack,"  said  Kentucky,  forgetting 
to  administer  any  oath  —  a  proceeding  which,  even  if 
a  bible  could  have  been  found  in  the  settlement,  would 
not  have  altered  the  testimony  one  iota  —  "tell  us  all 
about  this  affair;  and  be  quick,  man  !" 

"  Well,"  replied  the  fellow,  taking  a  pull  at  his  can 
teen,  and  then  putting  a  quid  of  tobacco  in  his  cheek, 
"  all  I  know  about  it  is  this.  When  we  parted  com 
pany  in  cruising  after  Polok's  Injins,  Gobin  and  I  and 
Hoffengel  sailed  in  convoy.  I  was  just  ready  to  pop 
away  at  a  red  rascal,  when  I  hear  Gobin  say  some 
thing  to  Hoffengel,  which  kinder  vexed  him.  Then 
Hoffengel  hailed  him  with  something  back  ;  and  a 
minute  after,  when  he  thought  I  wasn't  looking,  I  saw 
him  up  with  his  rifle  and  hit  Gobin  with  a  bullet  in 
the  starboard  quarter  :  and  just  then,  Kentucky  gave 


96  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

the  signal  for  closing  up  in  company,  and  we  came 
back." 

"  And  why  didn't  you  tell  this  before ?"  asked  Ken 
tucky. 

To  this  question,  Pickle  Jack  intimated  that  he 
hardly  knew,  but  that  he  believed  it  was  because  he 
thought,  now  that  Gobin  was  dead,  that  it  would  be 
unnecessary  to  make  a  fuss  ;  but  that,  finally,  his  sense 
of  justice  and  of  the  duties  he  owed  to  society  would 
not  permit  him  to  remain  any  longer  silent. 

"  That  will  do,  Pickle  Jack,"  said  Kentucky;  and 
the  witness  was  about  to  go  back  to  his  seat  beside  his 
rifle,  when  I  interrupted  him. 

"  I  should  like  to  cross-examine  the  witness,"  I  said. 

"  Can't  be  done  !"  replied  Kentucky ;  "  no  lawyer- 
tricks  for  us !" 

"  I  ask  it  as  a  citizen  of  the  mines,"  I  responded. 
"  It  is  what  any  of  you  would  be  permitted  to  do." 

Kentucky  looked  doubtful.  The  appeal  seemed 
reasonable,  but  he  doubted  in  his  mind  whether  I  was 
not  making  it  a  pretence  for  some  "  lawyer-trick," 
which  might  not  be  found  out  till  too  late.  As  the 
best  means  of  settling  the  matter,  he  was  just  about  to 
put  the  proposition  to  vote,  after  a  true  democratic 
manner,  when  Hoffengel,  looking  up  at  him,  stated 
that  he  would  cross-examine  the  witness  himself — a 
course  about  which  there  could  be  no  question  in  re 
gard  to  propriety. 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  97 

"Did  you  not,  on  our  return  from  the  chase,  state, 
with  others,  that  you  knew  not  what  had  become  of 
Gobin  ?  What,  then,  did  you  mean  by  such  an  incon 
sistency  ?" 

Pickle  Jack  shuffled  uneasily  upon  his  feet,  and  for 
a  moment  was  quite  taken  aback ;  but  many  rascals 
have  a  ready  impudence,  and  he  was  one  of  them. 
His  eye  suddenly  lighted  up  with  animation  as  he  con 
ceived  a  plan  whereby  he  could  not  only  clear  away 
the  inconsistency,  but  also  inflict  a  wound  which  would 
be  severely  felt,  and  he  answered  :  "  Why,  to  be  sure, 
I  oughter  have  told  on  it  at  first,  but  you  know  family 
honor  is  something.  You  know  you  have  a  little  bird 
in  your  tent,  that  I  thought  of  being  spliced  to ;  and, 

for  her  brother  to  be  hung,  would hallo,  d — n  you, 

keep  clear!" 

Hoffengel  had  started  up,  and,  had  his  hands  not 
been  bound,  would  have  speedily  done  something  more 
worthy  of  being  hung  for  than  anything  he  had  yet 
been  charged  with.  But  the  persons  sitting  near  easily 
pulled  him  back  ;  and,  as  he  felt  himself  powerless,  he 
sunk  down  in  an  agony  of  wo :  while  Pickle  Jack, 
whose  explanation  had  effectually  relieved  most  of  his 
hearers  from  the  doubts  which  Hoffengel's  question 
had  momentarily  raised,  retired  with  a  malignant  smile 
of  diabolic  satisfaction  gleaming  upon  his  ugly  features. 

Two  or  three  other  witnesses  were  then  called  upon 
to  testify  that,  on  the  return,  Hoffengel  had  appeared 
,9 


98  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

very  much  excited  —  which  proved  nothing,  since  the 
events  of  the  pursuit  had  acted  upon  every  one  in  the 
same  manner.  Then  the  judge  proposed  that,  being 
a  little  tired,  we  should  adjourn  till  after  noon ;  which 
proposition,  being  put  to  vote,  was  agreed  to.  The 
prisoner  was  taken  back  to  his  place  of  confinement ; 
the  jury  and  spectators  went  off  to  drink,  and  play 
monte ;  the  Indian  boys  gave  a  whoop  and  did  likewise  ; 
and  in  a  few  minutes  the  ground  was  deserted  by  all, 
excepting  two  or  three,  who  remained  eagerly  discus 
sing  which  would  be  a  proper  tree  for  the  anticipated 
execution. 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  99 


XII. 

As  soon  as  the  court  was  dismissed,  Burschenwolt 
and  I  both  hurried  off  to  the  tent  where  Blandina  Hof- 
fengel  had  remained  in  an  agony  of  doubt  and  fear. 
We  found  her  with  her  face  buried  in  her  hands,  and 
for  some  moments  so  unconscious  of  our  approach, 
that  I  began  to  think  that  her  grief  had  mercifully  ren 
dered  her  insensible.  But  at  last,  when  we  ventured 
to  address  her  by  name,  she  looked  up,  and  motioned 
us  to  enter. 

She  laid  her  hand  on  mine,  and  gazed  up  inquiringly 
into  my  face,  seeming  as  though  she  had  resolved  to 
hang  her  hopes  and  fears  upon  the  first  word  which 
might  proceed  from  my  lips.  For  some  time  I  said 
nothing — being  resolved  not  to  act  in  such  a  way  as 
cruelly  to  raise  false  hopes,  and  at  the  same  time  study 
ing  how  to  express  my  sense  of  the  impending  and 
contracting  cloud  so  as  not  to  give  too  great  a  shock 
to  her  mind  ;  and  while  I  was  hesitating,  Burschenwolt 
said  something  to  her  in  German  (what  it  was  I  could 
not  understand,  of  course,  but  it  seemed  to  be  in  the 
nature  of  encouragement).  And  then  it  suddenly  oc 
curred  to  me,  how  much  more  proper  it  would  be  for 
him,  who  was  bound  to  her  by  the  ties  of  national  sym- 


100  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

pathy,  to  break  the  impending  truth  ;  and  I  arose  to 
take  my  departure,  having  uttered  nothing,  and  feeling 
very  much  as  though  T  was  cowardly  flying  from  my 
duty,  and  yet  all  the  time  knowing  that  I  was  taking 
the  most  proper  and  available  course. 

"  Tell  her  all,  and  do  not  express  hopes  which  you 
can  not  feel  —  it  will  be  better  so  in  the  end,"  I  whis 
pered  to  him  as  I  left.  He  nodded,  and  I  stepped 
forth  into  the  open  air,  feeling  a  sense  of  relief  as  I  did 
so,  and  half  wondering  that  I  had  never  before  found 
the  tent  so  hot  and  oppressive. 

"  Where  to  go  now?"  was  the  question.  I  thought 
I  would  seek  out  some  of  the  jury,  and  endeavor,  by 
a  little  private  conversation,  to  influence  them  the  right 
way.  It  was  not  exactly  the  thing  which  a  true  ob 
servance  of  legal  custom  would  authorize,  to  be  sure ; 
but  where  the  whole  body  of  the  miners  had  thrown 
the  system  over  by  the  board,  and  thus  given  vent  to 
a  vast  amount  of  prejudice  and  chicanery  against  the 
prisoner,  it  was  hard  indeed  if  I  could  not  make  use 
of  any  means  in  my  power  which  would  result  in  his 
favor.  So  I  strolled  off,  in  as  leisurely  a  manner  as  I 
could  assume,  to  where  two  of  the  jury  were  playing 
poker  with  an  old  pack  of  cards. 

After  looking  on  as  listlessly  as  possible  for  a  few 
minutes,  I  intimated  that  I  would  like  to  take  a  hand, 
for  the  purpose  of  learning  the  game  —  though,  to  tell 
the  truth,  I  knew  it  well  enough.  So,  after  noticing 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  101 

that  one  winked  to  the  other,  as  if  congratulating  him 
upon  having  such  a  fine  opportunity  to  fleece  a  green 
horn,  I  pulled  out  my  bag  of  dust,  and  sat  down  with 
them. 

I  purposely  lost  as  large  a  sum  of  money  as  I  could 
afford,  in  order  to  put  them  into  a  good  humor,  and 
also  made  several  such  broad  mistakes  in  the  play  as 
might  well  be  calculated  to  excite  their  risibilities ; 
and  then  commenced  proceedings  in  regard  to  the 
trial. 

"I  ante  two  and  stake  two! — Well,  by-the-way, 
what  are  you  going  to  do  with  poor  HofFengel?" 

"  Hang  him,  of  course,"  said  one  of  the  men,  with 
the  utmost  coolness.  "  There  —  see  you  two  and  go 
you  three  better!" 

"You  don't  believe  him  really  guilty?"  I  said. 

"  To  be  sure  !" 

"I  call!"  I  said,  as  I  laid  down  my  three  dollars. 
"Why,  there's  not  a  court  in  Christendom  would 
think  him  guilty,"  I  added,  rather  off  my  guard. 

"Courts  bed d  !"  said  the  fellow  ;  "we  don't 

want  none  of  them  here.  —  What  have  you  got?" 

"  To  be  sure,"  I  answered  ;  "but  then,  you  know, 
in  this  case  there's  no  dead  body  found,  and  so  you 
can't  be  sure  there  has  been  a  murder:  and  if  you  are 
not  perfectly  sure — " 

"  Never  mind  about  that  now,"  he  interrupted — 
11  show  your  hand  !" 

9* 


102  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS: 

"  Two  queens  and  two  threes  !"  I  said,  laying  down 
my  cards  in  a  sort  of  despair  at  finding  the  fellow  so 
impenetrable  to  everything  except  the  game  in  hand. 

"  Two  jacks !"  replied  he,  showing  his  cards. 

"  Three  sevens !"  said  the  other  fellow,  sweeping 
up  the  pile.  And  then  the  two  declined  playing  any 
more — being  either  afraid  luck  would  change,  or  else 
having  some  dim  perception  that  I  was  tampering  with 
them,  and  that  it  wasn't  right — which,  by-the-way, 
would  have  been  the  only  respectable  idea  they  had 
cherished  that  day,  at  the  least.  And  I  also  walked 
off,  having  purposely  lost  nearly  a  week's  earnings,  and 
all  for  nothing. 

A  lucky  thought  struck  me.  They  would  probably 
not  allow  me  to  make  any  defence  in  favor  of  my  poor 
friend,  but  it  was  not  impossible  that  they  might  per 
mit  him  to  make  his  own  defence.  If,  therefore,  I 
saw  him  privately,  and  placed  in  his  possession  such 
a  review  of  facts  and  inferences  as  the  practice  of  my 
profession  told  me  would  be  useful,  there  might  be 
one  step  gained.  So  I  was  about  hurrying  off,  when 
I  heard  the  signal-horn  blown,  which  was  to  summon 
the  miners  for  the  continuation  of  the  trial. 

I  cursed  my  luck!  That  infernal  game  of  poker 
had  not  only  drained  my  pockets  to  no  purpose,  but 
had  also  taken  up  much  valuable  time,  which  might 
have  been  better  employed.  It  could  be  of  no  use  to 
go  after  Hoffengel  now,  for  I  saw  them  already  bring- 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  103 

ing  him  from  his  place  of  confinement,  while  the  whole 
population  of  the  settlement  was  hurriedly  wending  to 
the  place  of  trial.  With  a  bitter  heart  I  mixed  in  with 
the  crowd,  and,  taking  my  seat  upon  the  grass,  waited 
for  the  court  to  oppn. 

"  What,"  thought  I,  "  will  poor  Hoffengel  think  of 
me,  but  that  I  have  abandoned  him,  since  I  have  not 
been  to  see  him  in  his  prison  yet  ?  And  if  those  two 
wretches,  with  whom  I  played  that  unlucky  game  of 
poker,  have  sounded  my  designs,  will  they  not  bear 
yet  harder  against  the  accused?  —  and  will  not  I  be 
brought  into  disrepute,  and  perhaps  be  turned  out  of 
the  mine,  with  the  loss  of  everything  I  have  got?"  — 
These  were  not  pleasant  thoughts,  and  as  quickly  as  I 
could  I  cast  them  aside  and  looked  around. 

Most  everybody  was  in  the  place  he  had  had  during 
the  morning,  and  in  general  very  much  inclined  to  give 
proper  attention  to  the  proceedings.  Some,  however, 
were  a  little  drunker  than  they  had  been  before,  and 
were  consequently  apt  to  become  noisy ;  yet,  as  their 
more  sober  friends  held  them  in  restraint,  it  was  not  a 
matter  of  very  great  consequence. 

"Hoffengel,"  said  Kentucky,  rapping  with  his  pipe 
for  order  —  after  a  few  witnesses  in  favor  of  the  pris 
oner  had  been  bullied  —  "you  have  been  accused  of 
killing  Gobin.  I  believe  you  did  it  —  but  that's  nei 
ther  here  nor  there,  what  I  think.  You're  to  look  to 
the  jury  for  their  opinion,  you  are.  If  you  can  make 


104  THE    VOLCANO   DIGGINGS  : 

those  fellows  believe  you  didn't  do  it,  all  right:  we'll 
let  you  go,  then.  But  if  you  can't,  we'll  hang  you 
up,  as  sure  as  Kentucky's  the  greatest  state  in  the 
Union  !  So,  get  up,  and  let's  hear  what  you  can  say! 
for  yourself." 

HofFengel  was  about  rising  in  his  defence,  when  I 
interposed.  I  requested  leave  to  make  a  few  remarks 
in  favor  of  the  prisoner.  I  promised  not  to  take  up 
much  time,  and  assured  the  crowd  that  it  was  their  duty 
to  listen  to  whatever  might  lean  to  the  side  of  mercy. 

"  Can't  do  it !"  said  Kentucky  ;  "  we  want  no  law 
yer-work  here !" 

I  stated  that  I  merely  wished  to  be  heard  as  a  mem 
ber  of  the  settlement,  and  that  my  only  object  was  to 
respond  to  the  call  of  humanity. 

"My  opinion  is,"  replied  one  of  the  jury,  "that 
whatever  is  to  be  said  had  better  be  said  by  the  man 
himself;  for  who  should  know  better  what  he  thinks 
best  for  him?" 

"  But  would  you,  if  placed  upon  your  trial  for  life, 
be  able  to  speak  as  calmly  and  collectedly  as  one  less 
interested?"  I  demanded. 

"Hum  !"  the  fellow  muttered,  "  the  man's  only  got 
to  tell  the  truth  about  it,  and  that  any  one  could  say  — 
hang  or  no  hang!" 

"  I  tell  you  what  I'll  do,"  Kentucky  said,  upon  be 
ing  appealed  to  ;"  I'll  put  it  to  vote.  There!  nothing 
can  be  fairer  than  that,  it  can't — I'm  sure." 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  105 

The  vote  was,  of  course,  against  me ;  and,  with  a 
heart  bitter  with  the  reflection  that  a  murder  was  about 
to  be  perpetrated  under  the  name  of  justice,  I  sat  still 
to  hear  Hoffengel  argue  his  own  case. 

He  did  better  than  I  had  anticipated.  Speaking  in 
a  voice  which,  though  somewhat  broken,  was  clearer 
than  might  have  been  expected  under  the  circum 
stances,  he  continued  for  some  minutes  in  a  fair  train 
of  argument,  in  which  he  displayed  a  sort  of  intuitive 
knowledge  of  the  principles  of  law.  He  began  by 
referring  to  his  general  good  character  in  the  mines, 
previous  to  the  arrest  under  such  a  charge.  He  then 
spoke  of  Pickle  Jack's  evidence  as  being  unworthy  of 
credit,  since  the  fellow  had  himself  acknowledged  bitter 
feelinirs  against  him,  and  had  been  heard  more  than 

O  D 

once  to  swear  vengeance  against  him  for  a  just  pun 
ishment.  He  also  spoke  of  the  sailor's  inconsistent 
stories  in  relation  to  the  affair — an  inconsistency  which 
mere  insulting  language  ought  not  to  be  considered  as 
explaining.  He  referred  to  Gobin's  insane  traits  of 
character,  under  the  impulse  of  which  he  might  easily 
have  wandered  off  by  himself  in  the  chase,  and  never 
found  his  way  back.  And  he  stated  that,  no  dead 
body  being  found  or  even  looked  for — as  would  have 
been  a  just  course  for  the  members  of  the  self-consti 
tuted  court  —  they  ought  not  to  be  too  ready  to  pre 
sume  that  any  murder  had  been  committed  ;  and  that 
any  such  presumption,  if  made  at  all,  should  be  by 


106  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

the  mouths  of  more  than  a  single  witness,  and  that 
one  deeply  prejudiced.  And,  finally,  he  prayed  the 
jur}vif  there  was  a  doubt  in  their  minds,  to  lean  to 
the  side  of  mercy,  if  only  for  the  sake  of  one  who 
would  be  alone  and  unprotected  if  he  were  taken  away 
from  her. 

"Don't  be  afraid  about  the  little  bird!"  sneered 
Pickle  Jack,  when  the  argument  was  finished;  "I'll 
marry  her  myself." 

A  slight  burst  of  indignation  followed  this  heartless 
piece  of  insult,  and  for  a  moment  I  hoped  the  feeling 
thus  raised  would  tell  in  favor  of  the  prisoner  ;  but  the 
next  minute,  I  saw  by  the  dark,  determined  looks  of 
the  free  and  enlightened  jury,  that  all  hope  was  over: 
and,  true  enough,  after  putting  their  heads  together  for 
a  moment  or  two,  they  turned  to  Kentucky  and  said  — 

"  We  believe  that  he  done  it." 

"  Then  may  God  forgive  you !"  uttered  Hoffengel, 
and  that  was  all  he  said. 

"  And  when  shall  we  hang  him,  fellows  ?"  said  Ken 
tucky. 

One  suggested  that  the  next  day  would  be  a  proper 
time,  but  another  remarked  that  it  was  "  work-day ;" 
and  so,  after  a  few  minutes'  debate,  Kentucky  named 
that  same  afternoon  at  sunset :  and  it  being  put  to  vote, 
and  settled  upon,  the  court  was  adjourned,  and  the 
prisoner  taken  back  to  his  place  of  confinement. 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  107 


XIII. 

I  CAN  NOT  describe  the  sickening  sensations  which 
filled  my  soul  as  I  followed  the  crowd  away  from  the 
scene  of  trial.  Some  were  brutally  joking  about  the  com 
ing  execution,  but  for  the  most  part  a  subdued  feeling 
reigned  among  the  mass  ;  and  I  fancied  that  some,  who 
had  been  the  most  eager  for  the  conviction  of  the  pris 
oner,  would  now  have  been  glad  to  find  any  expedient 
which  might  save  him. 

This  slight  ebullition  of  feeling,  however,  if  any 
such  actually  existed,  was  but  transitory.  The  resi 
dent  in  California  becomes  too  familiarized  with  death 
to  regard  it  with  half  the  horror  which  attends  its  ap 
proach  in  more  civilized  places.  Consequently,  any 
of  those  who  may  have  been  saddened  at  first,  soon 
brightened  up  with  the  reflection  that  it  was  merely 
the  poor  fellow's  bad  luck,  for  which  they  were  not 
accountable.  And  ere  many  minutes,  the  bottle  and 
cards  were  in  as  full  request  as  before  ;  and,  upon 
looking  back  to  the  place  of  trial,  I  observed  Kentucky 
sawing  off  a  horizontal  limb  Irom  one  of  the  pines,  so 
as  to  leave  the  jutting  arm,  about  fifteen  feet  from  the 
ground.  I  well  knew  what  it  was  for. 

I  had  no  time,  however,  in   which  to  indulge  my 


108  THE  VOLCANO  DIGGINGS  : 

sensibilities.  Something  must  be  done  soon  or  never, 
for  the  sun  was  rapidly  descending  to  the  level  of  the 
hills.  I  therefore  turned  back  to  Kentucky,  and  im 
plored  him  to  allow  the  prisoner  more  time,  in  order 
that,  if  anything  turned  up  which  would  be  of  benefit 
to  him,  it  might  not  come  too  late. 

No,  it  could  n't  be  done.  Next  day  was  work-day, 
and  it  would  cost  too  much  to  keep  the  condemned 
man  another  week.  Provisions  were  getting  scarce ; 
and,  besides,  there  wras  no  chance  for  Gobin  to  come 
back :  Pickle  Jack  had  said  he  saw  Gobin  shot,  and 
Pickle  Jack  ought  to  know !  Such  was  the  substance 
of  Kentucky's  reasoning ;  and  when  he  had  finished, 
he  turned  away,  as  though  not  wishing  to  argue  the 
question  any  more,  and  commenced  fixing  a  slip-knot 
in  a  rope,  while  Pickle  Jack  stood  by,  with  a  broad 
grin  of  triumphant  transport  upon  his  coarse,  ugly 
features. 

1  saw  it  was  of  no  use,  and  reluctantly  turned  away. 
My  last  hope  was  to  go  about  among  the  miners,  and 
endeavor  to  excite  such  a  feeling  of  sympathy  in  them 
as  would  serve  to  counteract  their  former  injustice. 
But  here  also  my  labor  was  fruitless.  The  miners 
were  too  busily  engaged  in  their  several  dissipations 
to  mind  what  was  said  to  them.  As  a  general  thing, 
also,  they  considered  the  matter  settled ;  and,  whether 
right  or  wrong,  wished  to  hear  nothing  more  about  it. 
Some  laughed  ;  others  said  that  they  were  sorry,  but 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  109 

that  the  poor  fellow  must  swing ;  a  few  appeared  in 
clined  to  help  him  if  they  could,  but  didn't  know  how, 
and,  as  I  plainly  saw,  couldn't  be  made  to  learn.  And 
the  upshot  of  the  whole  affair  was,  that  I  was  obliged 
to  give  it  up  —  with  the  feeble  hope  that,  at  the  last 
minute,  when  they  saw  the  poor  victim  standing  on  the 
brink  of  the  grave,  the  awful  scene  might  affect  them 
more  powerfully  than  now,  and  lead  them  to  reverse 
their  unjust  decision. 

I  would  at  least  go  to  the  condemned  man,  and  en 
deavor  to  offer  him  my  feeble  assistance  and  consola 
tions,  and  thither  I  accordingly  went,  rejoicing  that 
Burschenwolt's  presence  had  saved  me  from  the  pain 
ful  task  of  breaking  the  melancholy  tidings  to  the  poor 
sister ;  for  Burschenwolt,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  trial, 
had  immediately  gone  off  to  the  tent  of  Blandina  Hof- 
fengel,  whither  I  dared  not  go,  and  I  had  not  seen  him 
since. 

I  found  Caspar  Hoffengel  in  a  small  tent  which  had 
been  vacated  for  the  purpose  by  its  former  occupant. 
He  was  strongly  tied  at  his  feet  and  hands,  and  was 
propped  up  against  a  sack  of  flour  behind.  This  was 
what  I  observed  from  the  doorway,  where  I  had  a  long 
dispute  with  the  two  men  stationed  to  guard  him,  ere 
I  was  allowed  to  enter. 

"  A  sad  business  for  you,  my  friend  Gaspar !"  I  said, 
after  I  had  obtained  admittance. 

"  It  is,"  replied  he,  "  but  I  knew  how  it  would  end, 
'10 


110  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

and  I  have  prepared  myself.  I  die  innocent  of  this 
crime ;  and  I  trust  that  such  an  affliction  may  atone 
for  what  other  sins  I  may  have  committed.  —  But  my 
poor  sister!  what  will  she  do  when  I  am  gone,  and 
how  will  she  bear  this  blow  ?" 

"  Make  yourself  easy  about  that,"  I  said.  "  I  will 
protect  her  from  insult,  and  will  endeavor  to  provide 
for  her;  and, "further,  will  restore  her  to  her  friends  in 
the  East,  though  I  go  myself  with  her." 

He  grasped  my  hand.  It  was  all  he  did,  and  noth 
ing  was  said  on  the  subject ;  but  I  felt  I  had  been 
thanked  sufficiently,  if  thanks  were  necessary  for  prom 
ising  what  none  but  a  brute  could  have  refused. 

"  What  time  have  I  to  live  ?"  he  asked,  at  length. 

I  went  to  the  door  and  glanced  at  the  declining  sun  ; 
and  returning,  told  him  he  had  about  an  hour  and  a 
half. 

"  Go  to  my  tent,  then,  and  bring  me  back  a  bible 
which  my  poor  sister  will  give  you." 

I  pulled  out  mine,  which  I  had  stopped  at  my  tent 
for,  and  laid  it  before  him. 

"  And  now,  my  kind  friend,"  he  said,  "  leave  me 
alone  for  the  rest  of  my  shortening  time." 

I  called  in  the  men  who  guarded  him,  and  had  the 
cords  which  confined  his  hands  tied  round  his  wrists 
instead,  so  that  he  could  hold  the  book  before  him  ; 
and  then,  shaking  him  by  the  hand,  left  him  with  tears 
in  my  eyes,  such  as  I  had  never  yet  shed. 


A   TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  Ill 

All  was  becoming  quiet  in  the  settlement  as  the 
time  wore  on.  The  cards  and  drinking  were  put 
aside,  and  men  walked  uneasily  ahout ;  for  a  good 
sense  in  some,  and  an  instinctive  feeling  in  others,  told 
them  that  this  was  not  a  time  for  gaming  and  debauch 
ery.  I  hoped  that  the  drawing  near  of  such  a  solemn 
occasion,  with  its  accompanying  better  feelings,  might 
W7ork  some  relenting  in  the  hearts  of  the  miners ;  and 
so  it  might  have  been,  if  Pickle  Jack  had  not  run 
around,  from  group  to  group,  reiterating  his  charges, 
and  thus  destroying  whatever  of  good  feeling  might 
occasionally  arise.  And  while  I  marked  this  scene, 
and  wondered  how  revenge  could  be  carried  so  far  in 
the  human  heart,  the  setting  sun  slowly  dipped  behind 
the  mountains,  the  last  gleam  flickered  among  the 
pines  as  it  went  down,  and  then  the  horn  of  Kentucky 
blew  the  signal  for  the  execution. 

I  made  yet  another  effort  for  the  unfortunate  pris 
oner,  when  the  whole  population  of  the  settlement,  with 
the  attendant  groups  of  straggling  Indians,  had  assem 
bled.  I  reviewed,  as  Hoffengel  had  done  before,  the 
points  of  the  defence  ;  and,  though  some  manifested 
impatience,  I  persisted  in  going  on  against  all  opposi 
tion.  I  dilated  upon  the  absence  of  any  corpse,  to 
show  that  any  murder  had  been  committed  ;  I  spoke 
of  the  inconsistencies  of  the  principal  witness,  and  his 
noted  enmity  against  the  prisoner;  I  remarked  upon 
the  improbability  of  any  one  attempting  a  murder  in 


112  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  .' 

the  sight  of  others,  and  for  a  very  slight  provocation  : 
and  lastly,  knowing  that  Kentucky's  voice  was  all- 
powerful  with  the  miners,  I  attempted  to  win  his  opin 
ion  by  a  little  nicely-coated  flattery. 

"I  know,  judge,"  I  said  —  giving  him  the  title 
which  he  claimed,  and  titles  are  always  agreeable  to 
such  people  —  "I  know  well  that  the  decision  in  this 
case,  which  has  been  made  with  your  approbation,  is, 
in  many  respects,  wise  and  just;  but  still  there  may 
be  many  little  things,  which,  in  the  press  of  the  busi 
ness,  you  may  have  overlooked.  Now  don't  you 
think  it  would  be  a  good  plan  to  give  this  man  yet  one 
more  week,  in  order  to  let  something  turn  up  to  save 
him,  in  case  he  may  be  innocent?  It  would  do  no 
harm,  and  might  do  good." 

I  saw  that  he  hesitated,  and  finally  he  said  he  would 
put  it  to  vote,  which  he  did.  There  were  many  per 
sons  who  declared  themselves  in  favor  of  delay,  but 
there  were  more  who  were  adverse,  and  so  the  propo 
sal  was  not  adopted.  Kentucky,  rather  delighted  to 
think  that  he  was  relieved  of  all  responsibility,  gave 
orders  that  the  execution  should  go  on  ;  and  then,  for 
the  first  time,  I  lost  all  hope. 

At  this  moment,  a  courier  from  below,  mounted  on 
a  large  chestnut  horse,  was  seen  entering  the  mines, 
and  galloping  toward  us.  Behind  him  he  bore  a  small 
bag  of  letters ;  and,  as  it  had  been  a  long  while  since 
we  had  had  any  news  of  importance  from  below,  the 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  113 

prisoner,  for  the  time,  was  forgotten,  and  all  eagerly 
crowded  about  the  courier,  who,  at  the  first  demand, 
opened  his  bag  and  commenced  his  distribution  ;  and 
it  was  only  when  the  bag  was  empty,  that  he  began  to 
inquire  the  reason  of  the  scene  before  him. 

"  Going  to  hang  him  for  murder,"  said  Texas. 

"  Poor  devil !"  replied  the  courier,  stationing  him 
self  for  a  good  view  of  the  scene. 

All  this  time,  Pickle  Jack,  who  had  volunteered  to 
act  as  executioner,  was  tying  the  knot  in  a  tighter 
strain  ;  and  rinding  his  efforts  somewhat  impeded  by 
a  long  end  of  one  of  the  strands  which  hung  in  his 
way,  he  demanded  a  knife  with  which  to  cut  it  off. 

"  Take  mine,"  said  the  courier,  who  happened  to 
stand  near,  handing  out  a  large  pearl-handled  bowie 
of  curious  workmanship. 

"  Stop  !"  shouted  HofTengel,  for  the  first  time  speak 
ing.  "Men,  will  you  persist  in  murdering  me?  I'll 
swear  that's  Gobin's  knife!" 

And  so  it  was !  Every  one  recognised  it  imme 
diately.  Here  was  a  ray  of  hope  ;  and  it  only  remained 
for  the  courier  to  mention  how  the  instrument  came 
into  his  possession. 

"  Why,  that's  the  most  curious  part  of  it,"  said  the 
man.  "  I  was  passing  through  one  of  Cacoux'  vil 
lages,  when  they  told  me  that  a  white  man  was  sick 
there.  So,  as  in  duty  bound,  I  stepped  aside  to  see 
him.  I  didn't  ax  his  name,  for  1  hadn't  time  to  stop 
10* 


114  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

long,  and  perhaps  I  didn't  think  of  axing,  since  I 
don't  know  as  it  would  have  done  me  any  particular 
good.  But  this  I  know  —  he  was  sick,  and  couldn't 
get  well,  and  he  knew  it  too,  so  as  there  was  no  use 
in  moving  him.  He  said  as  how  he  had  left  some 
other  miners,  because  he  couldn't  bear  to  stay,  on 
account  of  something  or  other.  And  then  I  came 
along." 

"  But  the  knife  —  the  knife?"  a  dozen  of  us  cried. 

"  Why,  as  I  was  leaving,  he  told  me  to  take  it.  *  I 
can't  live,  stranger,'  he  said,  l  and  it's  better  a  white 
man,  as  knows  how  to  use  it,  should  have  it,  than  an 
Injin.'  There  was  a  dog  along  with  him,  too,  if  that 
will  be  of  any  importance. 

"  I  demand  that  this  execution  be  stopped,  and  Gas- 
par  Hoffengel  stand  acquitted !"  I  said,  starting  up. 

"  Why,"  replied  Kentucky,  "  not  that  exactly,  for 
all  this  mayn't  be  true;  but  we'll  adjourn  it  till  next 
Sunday,  and  then  we  can  find  out  if  it  is  really  Gobin 
that  was  seen." 

The  proposal  was  carried  by  acclamation  —  Pickle 
Jack's  being  the  only  dissenting  voice ;  and  then,  a 
party  of  six  or  eight  volunteering  to  go  after  Gobin 
and  thence  report  as  to  his  identity,  I  ran  to  have  our 
mules  saddled,  and  Burschenwolt  joyfully  sped  to 
carry  the  glad  tidings  to  his  Blandina ;  while  Gaspar 
was  borne  back  to  confinement,  with  the  most  distin 
guished  and  respectful  consideration. 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  115 


XIV. 

WELL,  to  go  on  with  my  story,  I  believe  I  never 
experienced  so  much  real  joy  in  my  life  as  when  I 
saw  things  taking  this  favorable  turn.  To  use  the 
expression  of  one  of  the  miners,  I  looked  "  as  though 
I  had  taken  out  a  forty-ounce  lump."  My  heart  actu 
ally  danced  within  me,  more  especially  as  I  saw,  by 
the  discomfited  appearance  of  the  populace,  that  they 
were  already  becoming  disgusted  with  the  operation 
of  their  self-made  code,  and  that  now  was  the  time 
when  the  true  system  of  law-expounding  should  begin 
to  fall  into  practice. 

While  Memnon  was  saddling  the  mules,  I  flew  to 
offer  my  congratulations  to  Caspar ;  for,  although  the 
affair  was  not  yet  decided,  no  one  could  very  well 
doubt  the  ultimate  result.  I  found  his  two  guards 
now  made  not  the  slightest  objection  to  my  admittance. 
Indeed,  they  had  themselves  gone  into  the  tent,  un 
bound  the  poor,  much-abused  fellow's  hands,  and  were 
in  the  act  of  proposing  a  sociable  game  of  monte  to 
him,  as  I  entered.  He  thanked  them  kindly,  but  de 
clined  playing  at  present ;  whereupon  one  of  them 
handed  forth  a  flask  of  brandy  for  his  use,  and  they 
left  us  to  ourselves. 


116  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

"Pretty  good  fellows  those,  after  all,"  said  Hof- 
fengel,  as  they  stepped  outside.  "  I  do  not  believe 
they  meant  to  act  wrong  in  their  former  treatment  of 
me." 

"  To  be  sure  not,"  I  answered.  "  Their  fault  was, 
in  letting  their  prejudices  overcome  their  reason  ;  and 
thus,  in  accordance  therewith,  forcing  themselves  to  look 
upon  a  man  as  guilty  before  he  was  really  proved  to 
be  so.  —  But  how  do  you  find  yourself  now?" 

"  Much  better,  of  course,"  he  answered.  "  And  my 
sister — " 

Ere  he  could  finish,  however,  the  d^or  was  dark 
ened  for  a  moment,  and  Blandina,  supported  by  Bur- 
schenwolt,  threw  herself  in  his  arms  ;  and  promising 
soon  to  return,  with  such  evidence  as  would  undoubt 
edly  insure  his  entire  liberty,  we  left  her  in  a  state  of 
joyful  hysterics,  and  departed  after  our  mules. 

A  dozen  men  were  already  mounted  to  go  after  poor 
Gobin,  among  whom  Kentucky  and  Texas  were  the 
most  prominent.  Pickle  Jack,  on  the  contrary,  had 
slunk  out  of  sight,  and  no  one  seemed  to  know  where 
he  had  gone.  I  inwardly  wished  that  he  had  cleared 
out  from  the  mine  for  ever,  as  he  was  undoubtedly  the 
most  hardened  character  I  had  ever  met  with. 

"Now,  then,  a'n't  you  going  with  us?"  said  Ken 
tucky  to  the  courier,  who  sat  upon  the  ground,  com 
placently  smoking  a  short  pipe.  "  How  on  airth  are 
we  to  find  Gobin,  unless  you  come  with  us?  You 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  117 

can  just  as  well  come  back  after  our  letters  as  stay  here 
all  the  time." 

The  man  looked  round  rather  discontentedly,  seemed 
to  appreciate  the  necessity  of  his  attendance,  but  mut 
tered  something  about  having  been  riding  all  day,  and 
finally  mounted  and  rode  off  with  us.  And  so  we 
jogged  along  —  Kentucky  and  the  courier  in  front; 
Texas  following  with  some  of  the  others,  to  whom  he 
\vas  telling  how  that  he  knew  it  would  turn  out  so,  and 
that  Hoffengel  was  a  deuced  good  fellow ;  and  Bur- 
schenwolt  and  myself  bringing  up  the  rear,  having 
fallen  somewhat  behind  for  the  purpose  of  talking  over 
the  affair  without  interruption. 

"  Now  I  go  read  letter  of  mine,"  said  Burschenwolt, 
suddenly  remembering  that  the  courier  had  given  him 
one,  which  in  the  excitement  he  had  put  into  his  pocket 
unopened. 

He  accordingly  let  the  reins  fall  loose  upon  his 
mule's  neck,  and  unfolded  the  sheet;  and  the  news  he 
received  seemed  to  give  him  so  much  satisfaction,  and 
he  appeared  so  desirous  of  imparting  it,  that  I  attempt 
ed  to  help  him  along  a  little. 

"All  right  down  below  —  in  the  settlements  —  Bur 
schenwolt?" 

He  clapped  his  hand  down  upon  his  saddle-bow  with 
such  animation,  that  he  almost  broke  his  meerschaam  ; 
whereupon,  emptying  out  the  ashes,  he  put  the  bowl 
very  carefully  into  his  pocket,  and  remarked  : — 


118  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS: 

"  I  should  no  wonder  as  I  was  in  Gottingen  before 
long." 

"Ah?" 

"My  twenty  lots  I  once  tell  you  of — a  city  grow 
up  there,  after  all." 

"Indeed?" 

"  My  agent  go  for  sell  out  for  me  ;  he  sell  for  fifteen 
thousands  dollars  !  That  money  all  mine  !  I  go  very 
soon  to  Gottingen  again." 

"  And  Blandina  Hoffengel  —  how  about  her?"  I  in 
quired. 

His  color  came  and  went  several  times,  and  he 
plunged  into  a  fit  of  musing  for  some  minutes. 

"If  you  are  well  assured  of  your  fortune  —  but  not 
without — and  if  the  girl  likes  you,  do  you  think  you 
could  do  better?"  I  said. 

"Ah!  she  may  no  like  me — then  I  go  alone.  If 
she  like  me,  then  I  take  her  with  me,"  he  answered, 
after  a  moment's  reflection ;  and  nothing  more  was 
said  on  the  subject.  We  rode  on  silently  for  some 
minutes,  he  undoubtedly  forming  many  plans  for  the 
future,  and  I  feeling  rather  sorry  that  I  had  not  myself 
bought  a  few  lots  in  that  same  city. 

By  this  time,  it  had  grown  quite  dark.  The  innu 
merable  stars  had  peeped  forth  from  above,  and  now 
shed  a  faint,  uncertain  light  upon  our  path,  as  we 
stumbled  along  the  trail,  lifting  our  mules  over  rotten 
logs  and  loose  stones,  and  ever  and  anon  dodging  the 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  119 

thick  boughs  of  oak  and  pine  which  stretched  over  our 
heads  like  so  many  spectral  giants  holding  forth  their 
arms  with  which  to  clasp  us  in  imprisonment.  At  in 
tervals,  the  howling  of  wolves,  wild-cats,  and  coyotes, 
could  be  heard  in  the  distance,  as  they  held  their  revels  , 
over  some  thicket-hidden  carcass;  while,  as  we  passed 
through  any  longer  and  closer  stretch  of  brush-land,  our 
progress  startled  innumerable  crickets  and  katydids  into 
shrill  and  piping  vitality.  The  warmth  of  the  past  day 
had  departed,  and  an  excessive  chilliness  supervened, 
so  that  we  were  obliged  to  fold  our  coats  tightly  about 
us  in  order  to  catch  the  least  bit  of  comfort  for  our 
skins. 

"Hallo!  where  be  you  taking  us  to?"  Texas  sud 
denly  sung  out.  "  Seems  to  me  about  camping-time. 
Been  now  two  hours  on  route."  ' 

"  Two  miles  off  only,"  said  the  courier ;  "Cacoux* 
village  near  at  hand." 

And  after  riding  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  longer, 
we  found  ourselves  in  the  midst  of  a  confused  scream 
ing  and  yelling,  mingled  with  the  ceaseless  barking  of 
dogs.  By  the  light  of  a  fire  some  little  distance  off, 
we  could  discern  several  brush-huts,  arranged  in  a  cir 
cular  form,  among  which  the  savages  were  standing, 
though  in  such  a  faint  light,  it  was  difficult  to  say 
.whether  they  were  men  or  women.  Around  the  fire, 
however,  was  another  party,  which  we  could  easily  see 
was  composed  of  nlen  clad  only  in  blue  shirts,  and 


120  THE  VOLCANO  DIGGINGS  . 

having  red  handkerchiefs  tied  about  their  long,  strag 
gling  locks.  They  seemed  to  treat  our  approach  with 
the  coolest  indifference,  never  once  getting  up  to  re 
ceive  us,  but  continuing  whatever  employment  they 
were  about  with  the  greatest  vigor. 

"  All  right !"  said  the  courier ;  "  this  is  the  village." 
We  dismounted,  and  while  some  took  the  horses 
and  tethered  them,  and  also  built  a  fire,  and  made 
other  arrangements  for  a  night's  bivouac,  the  rest  of 
us  followed  our  guide  to  the  place  where  he  had  seen 
Gobin  lying.  The  poor  fellow  was  still  there.  What 
was  exactly  the  matter  with  him,  we  could  hardly  tell. 
It  seemed  to  me  that  the  strange  wanderings  provoked 
by  his  partial  insanity,  and  the  hardships  thereby  en 
dured,  had  suddenly  prostrated  his  strong  frame,  and 
thus  brought  out  some  seeds  of  disease,  which,  under 
prudent  care,  might  for  a  long  while  have  lain  con 
cealed,  and  perhaps  ultimately  have  disappeared.  Any 
how,  it  was  evident  that  he  could  not  long  survive,  and 
this  he  seemed  himself  conscious  of — for,  as  he  saw 
us  crowding  into  the  hut,  he  raised  his  head  from  the 
ground,  and  fixing  upon  us  his  eyes,  to  which  the  sud 
den  surprise  gave  a  startled  and  glassy  appearance, 
said  — 

"  Boys,  you've  come  to  see  me  die,  have  you  not?" 
"I  hope  not,  Gobin,"  replied  Kentucky. 
To  this  the  sick  man  deigned  no  reply,  but,  looking 
once  more  round,  demanded  whether  I  was  present. 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  121 

I  stepped  from  behind  the  group  and  confronted  him, 
and,  in  answer  to  his  questions  regarding  the  object  of 
our  coming,  told  him  the  whole  story. 

"  And  you  were  going  to  hang  an  innocent  man  !" 
he  said,  with  as  much  indignation  as  his  feeble  voice 
would  allow.  "  Shame  on  you  !" 

And  then,  by  way  of  clearing  up  his  extraordinary 
course  of  conduct,  he  told  the  whole  story :  how  that 
the  presence  of  the  Hoffengels  at  the  mine  had  revived 
all  his  old  associations,  so  as  to  make  life  hateful  to 
him ;  how  that  he  had  resolved  to  leave  the  locality, 
and  seek  some  distant  refuge  from  his  troubled  thoughts ; 
how  that,  in  the  excitement  of  the  pursuit  after  the  In 
dians,  he  had  wandered  far  away,  forgetting  his  com 
panions,  and  at  length  found  himself  alone  in  an  un 
known  part  of  the  country  ;  and  finally,  how  that  some 
strange  aberrations  of  mind  had  overtaken  him,  in 
which  he  must  have  wandered  about  many  days,  his 
instincts  alone  protecting  him,  until,  when  his  recollec 
tions  returned,  he  found  himself  sick,  exhausted,  and 
sinking,  in  the  company  of  the  friendly  tribe. 

"  And  that  is  all,  boys,"  he  said.  "  Here,  take  this," 
he  added,  pulling  a  small  bag  of  gold-dust  from  his 
hunting-pouch  ;  "  give  this  to  Gaspar  Hoffengel,  as  a 
last  legacy  from  me,  and  as  some  reparation  for  the 
trials  my  conduct  has  caused  him.  —  And  do  you  stay 
with  me  this  night,"  he  said  to  me  ;  "  to-morrow  I  feel 
that  I  shall  be  gone." 

11 


122  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  ! 

The  rest  went  out,  and  I  remained  alone  with  him. 
For  an  hour  or  two  he  conversed  with  me  ;  and  though 
I  often  requested  him  not  to  waste  his  strength  in  im 
parting  his  revelations,  yet  he  still  persisted.  It  was 
a  solemn  thing  to  hear,  in  that  rude  cabin  of  the  wil 
derness,  the  dying  man  detailing  the  errors  of  his  past 
life,  and,  as  his  mind  occasionally  wandered,  imagining 
himself  in  some  European  court,  mingling  in  its  gay 
festivities.  Gradually,  however,  his  voice  sank  away. 
I  hent  over  him,  and  found  that  he  slept ;  and  then, 
folding  myself  in  my  blanket,  prepared  to  watch  beside 
him.  Soon,  though,  I  felt  sleep  stealing  over  me.  I 
endeavored  to  resist  its  approach,  but  in  vain,  and  at 
last  I  also  sank  away  in  dreamland. 

The  bright  morning  sun  gleaming  into  the  door  of 
the  hut  and  through  the  interstices  of  the  brush-walls, 
and  the  loud  shouts  of  the  Indians,  mingled  with  the 
cooler  tones  of  the  miners,  awakened  me.  I  arose  and 
looked  round  for  Gobin.  To  rny  horror,  he  was  not 
there !  My  cries  for  help  brought  the  whole  village 
around  me,  and  a  vigorous  search  was  instituted ;  and 
at  last  we  found  him,  at  a  little  distance  from  the  vil 
lage —  dead.  He  had  wandered  off  in  some  transient 
fit  of  delirium,  and  had  passed  away  as  he  had  latterly 
lived,  a  true  hunter  of  the  prairies.  He  was  sitting  up 
against  the  trunk  of  a  giant  pine,  with  his  head  turned 
as  though  he  had  seen  some  cause  of  alarm,  and  his 
hand  was  upon  the  belt  where  his  knife  had  formerly 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  123 

rested  ;  and  at  his  feet  lay  his  faithful  Gobinette,  with 
his  nose  upon  his  outstretched  paws,  giving  utterance 
to  a  low  whine. 

We  buried  him  upon  the  spot,  as  the  most  appro 
priate  which  could  have  been  selected.  When  we  laid 
the  body  in  the  grave,  the  dog  jumped  in,  and  would 
not  be  removed ;  and  while  we  were  endeavoring  to 
drag  the  faithful  brute  away,  one  of  the  Indians,  in  con 
formity  with  their  customs,  ran  his  knife  through  its 
heart,  that  both  might  be  buried  together.  And,  filling 
up  the  grave,  we  wended  our  way  back  to  the  settle 
ment  with  saddened  hearts. 


124  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 


XV. 

IT  is  scarcely  necessary  to  state  that,  upon  our  re 
turn  to  the  mine,  Gaspar  Hoffengel  was  acquitted  with 
all  the  honors.  Indeed,  considerable  enthusiasm  was 
manifested  upon  his  account :  every  one  pressed  around 
to  shake  him  by  the  hand ;  if  he  had  drunk  with  half 
the  people  who  wanted  him  to,  he  would  have  been  a 
dead  man  in  half  an  hour;  and,  upon  the  whole,  the 
very  men  who  before  were  most  anxious  to  hang  him, 
were  the  most  joyous  about  his  escape. 

"  Hope  you  bear  no  malice,  old  fellow,"  said  Ken 
tucky,  coming  forward  among  others,  and  thrusting 
forth  his  bony  hand.  "  Sorry  I  acted  so,  but  I  thought 
I  was  right,  and  did  it  for  the  best,  you  know." 

On  the  contrary,  HofFengel  assured  him  that  there 
was  no  cause  of  quarrel  between  them  ;  and  further, 
that  if  he  ever  was  hung,  it  would  give  him  particular 
pleasure  to  have  it  done  at  the  instigation  of  such 
a  good  fellow  as  Kentucky ;  whereupon  Kentucky 
laughed,  swore  that  he  was  a  trump,  and  shook  hands 
again. 

"  And  about  our  fees — "  one  of  the  jury  commenced. 

"D — n  the  fees!"  roared  Kentucky.  "Do  you 
think  we're  agoing  to  put  a  man  in  fear  of  his  life,  and 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  125 

then,  when  we  find  we  oughter  have  let  him  alone, 
turn  to  and  ruin  him  to  pay  ourselves?  Better,  by  a 
long  shot,  make  up  a  purse  to  pay  him  for  his  lost 
time." 

The  suggestion  was  eagerly  taken  up,  a  ragged  hat 
passed  round,  this  and  that  person  put  in  a  lump  or 
two,  and  ere  HofFengel  could  find  time  to  object,  some 
two  or  three  hundred  dollars  were  poured  into  his  lap. 
And  then  the  good-natured  crowd,  by  a  simultaneous 
impulse,  hoisted  him  on  their  shoulders,  and  bore  him 
in  triumph  to  the  store,  where  the  bottles  were  brought 
out,  the  necks  cracked  off,  and  a  flow  of  wine  and 
rush  of  viands  commenced,  in  honor  of  the  occasion. 

While  this  was  going  on,  I  observed  Kentucky 
eying  me  from  time  to  time,  in  a  shamefaced  way,  as 
though  he  wished  to  give  me  due  credit  for  my  past 
exertions  and  prognostications,  but  was  withheld  by 
the  usual  embarrassment  attending  an  open  acknowl 
edgment  of  one's  own  fault ;  but  at  last  the  cheerful 
glow  of  brandy  diffused  through  his  frame  loosened  his 
sense  of  justice,  and  he  stretched  out  his  knotted  hand 
to  me. 

"  Come  up  and  take  something  !"  he  shouted  ; — 
"you're  a  good  fellow,  and  we'll  make  you  judge  of 
the  settlement,  we  will." 

I  thanked  him  kindly  for  his  good  opinion  of  me, 
and,  as  the  offer  was  kindly  meant,  and  to  refuse  would 
have  seemed  disobliging,  I  managed  to  gulp  down  a 
11* 


126  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

dose  of  brandy  that  almost  burnt  my  stomach  to  char 
coal.  And  then,  thinking  it  a  good  opportunity  to 
provoke  a  discussion  upon  the  true  objects  and  intents 
of  civilized  law,  and  the  faithful  manner  in  which  it 
performed  the  requisitions  made  upon  it,  I  gradually 
drew  him  on,  until  I  found  myself  employed  in  a  reg 
ular  discussion,  which,  as  I  adapted  it  to  the  under 
standing  of  those  present,  was  listened  to  with  consid 
erable  attention. 

I  first  endeavored  to  correct  the  prevalent  idea  that 
the  laws  were  instituted  for  unjust  purposes,  and  that 
they  could  be  made  the  vehicle  for  uniform  oppression. 
This  I  did  by  showing  that  it  was  in  the  power  of  the 
people,  at  any  time,  to  alter  them.  And  I  also  at 
tempted  to  disabuse  their  minds  of  the  notion  that  all 
lawyers  were  scamps  and  reprobates.  I  fancy  I  spoke 
with  considerable  effect  —  for  Kentucky,  immediately 
as  I  finished  that  part  of  the  subject,  expressed  his  ap 
probation  by  inviting  me  to  take  a  drink ! 

I  then  set  about  vindicating  the  practice  of  the  law 
from  any  charges  about  its  want  of  simplicity,  by  show 
ing  that  it  was  impossible  that  any  important  and  use 
ful  thing  could  be  always  constructed  upon  narrow 
principles;  that  in  the  law,  everything  could  not  be 
settled  by  one  particular  method,  but  that  different 
branches  required  different  treatment,  lest  otherwise 
the  whole  fabric  would  be  choked  up  and  rendered 
useless.  This  I  illustrated  in  a  variety  of  ways  — 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  127 

which  so  well  suited  Kentucky,  that  he  again  called 
out — 

«  Take  a  drink  !" 

Then  I  spoke  of  the  different  officers  of  the  courts, 
and  showed  that  it  was  impossible  to  do  without  them', 
and  that,  whenever  there  was  work  to  he  done,  there 
must  also  be  some  one  to  do  it.  I  explained,  upon 
the  principle  of  division  of  labor,  how  much  better  and 
cheaper  it  was  in  a  large  community  to  have  certain 
persons  constantly  employed  in  particular  departments, 
whereby  the  work  was  not  only  done  quicker,  but  also 
better.  This  I  illustrated  by  reference  to  our  mining 
pursuits,  wherein  it  was  considered  better  for  some 
men  to  dig,  while  the  others  worked  the  rocker.  And 
I  demonstrated  that,  in  the  late  trial,  so  far  from  having 
done  away  the  many  officers  of  a  court,  they  had  actu 
ally  doubled  the  usual  number,  and  quadrupled  the 
expense  which  the  whole  transaction  would  have  in 
volved  in  a  regular  court. 

"  Take  a  drink  !"  said  Kentucky. 

I  then  argued  the  question  about  costs  at  law,  and  de 
manded  to  know  whether  a  man  who  devoted  himself 
for  years  to  one  branch  of  the  laws,  should  not  be  paid 
as  well  as  one  whose  energies  were  expended  in  mere 
hand  work.  And  I  explained  also  that  the  courts  were 
not  shut  against  a  poor  man  — since,  to  such,  counsel 
was  always  afforded  freely  and  willingly. 

"  Take  a  drink!"  repeated  Kentucky. 


128  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  : 

I  next  defended  the  law  from  the  charge  of  being  an 
abstruse  and  incomprehensible  thing  —  though,  at  first 
sight,  its  terms  might  seem  to  warrant  the  assertion. 
But  I  stated  that  everything  must  have  a  name,  by 
which  to  denote  it ;  and  that  the  terms  in  the  legal  vocab 
ulary  were  really  no  more  abstruse  than  the  commonest 
words  in  the  English  language,  since  it  was  merely 
their  more  unfrequent  use  that  made  them  appear 
strange  and  unfathomable.  And,  finally,  I  wound  up 
with  a  general  review  of  the  late  trial  —  showing  where 
the  adaptation  of  legal  principles  would  have  saved 
time  and  money,  and  also  preserved  at  the  first  the  life 
which  had  been  so  nearly  lost ;  and  I  stated  that, 
though  sometimes  the  guilty  might  thereby  escape,  yet 
it  was  better  so  than  that  innocent  men  should  perish, 
which  infallibly  would  often  be  the  case  if  loose  and 
formless  courts  were  indulged  in. 

"  By  the  devil,  you  shall  take  a  drink !"  shouted 
Kentucky,  jumping  up  in  a  rapture,  and  seizing  the 
bottle  ;  "  and  you  shall  be  our  judge  and  lawyer  both, 

4| 

and  shall  make  a  court  in  the  true  way." 

"  A  moment,"  I  said,  stopping  him.  "  If  you  would 
do  so  much  for  me,  arid  thus  listen  to  my  suggestions, 
let  me  ask  you  why  you  would  thus  allow  to  escape 
that  wretch,  who,  for  the  indulgence  of  his  private 
malice,  has  endeavored  to  swear  away  the  life  of  a 
fellow-being?  Are  there  no  statutes  against  perjury? 
and  are  not  those  statutes  just?"  —  and  I  pointed  to 


A    TALE    OF    CALTFOHXIA    LAW.  129 

Pickle  Jack,  who  had  reappeared  in  the  settlement, 
and  now,  neglected  by  all,  sat  in  a  dark  corner,  peer 
ing  upon  the  floor  with  bloodshot  and  heavy  eyes. 

The  miserable  sailor  groaned  and  arose,  and  stretched 
out  his  hand  toward  me ;  while,  with  thick  utterance, 
he  said  — 

"  Ah  —  ah  !  no  —  no  more  !  Drink,  and  make  up  ! 
But  don't  step  on  that  —  that — spider!!' 

"  What  does  the  man  mean  ?"  exclaimed  Kentucky. 
"  Who  ever  knew  him  to  care  for  the  life  of  a  spider?" 

"But  —  but — he's  gone!"  continued  Pickle  Jack. 
"See!  that  snake  has  swallowed  him!  Why  don't 
you  kill  the  snake?  D — n  you,  I  say,  why  don't  you 
kill  the  snake  ?"  he  yelled  out  frantically ;  and  then, 
with  a  loud  curse,  he  fell  writhing  upon  the  ground. 

The  dreadful  truth  flashed  upon  us.  It  was  not 
now  for  us  to  avenge,  since  Heaven  had  spared  us  the 
task,  and  sent  the  terrible  delirium  upon  him.  Even 
now  I  seem  to  hear  the  wretched  man's  oaths  and  yells 
sounding  in  my  ear.  We  could  not  bear  it;  and,  as 
shrill  cry  after  cry  arose  from  him,  the  most  of  us 
rushed  from  the  tent,  and  sought  refuge  from  that 
dreadful  scene  at  a  distance. 

Dear  C ,  it  is  now  four  days  since  that  wretched 

being  left  this  bourne  for  another,  whence  he  can  no 
more  return.  We  buried  him  with  all  decent  respect, 
for,  at  least,  he  was  human;  but,  when  the  last  sod 
was  trodden  down,  a  sense  of  relief  came  over  us  all, 


130  THE    VOLCANO    DIGGINGS  I 

that  he  was  gone.  The  popularity  which  his  lavish 
dissipation  had  won  him,  could  not  withstand  the  fiend 
ish  act  which  he  afterward  perpetrated,  and  Pickle 
Jack  died  without  a  friend. 

The  courier  leaves  to-morrow,  and  I  must  close  up 
my  journal  that  I  may  send  it  by  him.  With  him  the 
Hoffengels  and  Burschenwolt  travel  to  the  city.  Gas- 
par,  by  means  of  Gobin's  legacy  and  the  fund  which 
the  miners  contributed  at  his  acquittal,  finds  himself  in 
possession  of  a  suitable  amount  with  which  to  com 
mence  some  little  business  in  town ;  and  Burschen 
wolt  goes  to  look  after  his  newly-acquired  property. 
He  has  left  his  coyote  with  me  as  a  keepsake,  and  tells 
me  that  when  I  feed  the  animal,  I  should  think  of  him 
self  and  his  Blandina  in  old  beloved  Gottingen. 

I  shall  miss  my  friends  sorely,  but  the  cares  of  busi 
ness  will  probably  soon  occupy  me  sufficiently  to  alle 
viate  their  loss  :  for,  by  universal  consent,  I  have  been 
appointed  judge  of  the  mine,  with  full  power  to  try 
every  case  and  weigh  both  sides  according  to  legal 
principles.  The  calendar  is  filling  up  rapidly.  Such 
is  the  desire  of  all  to  watch,  the  working  of  true  legal 
practice,  that  every  one  is  looking  up  some  old  griev 
ances,  and  goes  into  law  with  as  much  alacrity  as  he 
would  enter  into  a  game  of  monte. 

You  see,  then,  that  I  am  getting  into  some  success 
at  last.  And  now,  farewell !  It  is  my  best  wish  that 
you  may  be  run  down  with  lucrative  business ;  but 


A    TALE    OF    CALIFORNIA    LAW.  131 

should  clients  fail  you,  leave  the  hot  city,  and,  instead 
of  moping  away  the  best  part  of  your  life,  put  your 
profession  upon  the  hazard  of  the  die,  and  in  these 
green  old  mountains  seek  out  some  "  Volcano,"  where 
common  consent  intends  to  abrogate  both  law  and 
lawyers. 


THE      END. 


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"  The  type  is  fair  and  handsome,  and  the  engravings  are  select  and  exe 
cuted  remarkably  well.  They  are  so  numerous  and  good,  as  to  be  in  them 
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THE    WORKS 

OF 

EDGAR    ALLAN     POE: 

WITH  NOTICES  OF  HIS  LIFE  AND  GENIUS, 

BY  J.  R.  LOWELL,  N.  P.  WILLIS,  AND  R.  W.  GRISWOLD. 

In  two  Volumes,  12mo.,  with  a  PORTRAIT  OF  THE  AUTHOR. 

PKICE,  Two  DOLLARS  A?*D  FIFTY  CENTS. 


NOTICES  OF  THE  PRESS. 

"  The  edition  is  published  for  the  benefit  of  his  mother-in-law,  Mrs.  Maria 
Clemm,  for  whose  sake  we  may  wish  it  the  fullest  success.  It  however,  de 
serves,  and  will  undoubtedly  obtain,  a  large  circulation  from  the  desire  so  many 
will  feel  to  lay  by  a  memorial  of  this  singularly-gifted  writer  and  unfortunate 
man." — Philadelphia,  North,  American. 

"Poe's  writings  are  distinguished  for  vigorous  and  minute  analysis,  and 
the  skill  with  which  he  has  employed  the  strange  fascination  of  mystery  and 
terror.  There  is  an  air  of  reality  in  all  his  narrations — a  dwelling  upon  partic 
ulars,  and  a  faculty  of  interesting  you  in  them  such  as  is  possessed  by  few 
writers  except  those  who  are  giving  their  own  individual  experiences.  The 
reader  can  scarcely  divest  his  mind,  even  in  reading  the  most  fanciful  of  his 
stories,  that  the  events  of  it  have  not  actually  occurred,  and  the  characters  had 
a  real  existence." — Philadelphia  Ledger. 

"  We  need  not  say  that  these  volumes  will  be  found  rich  in  intellectual 
excitements,  and  abounding  in  remarkable  specimens  of  vigorous,  beautiful, 
and  highly  suggestive  composition  ;  they  are  all  that  remains  to  us  of  a  man 
whose  uncommon  genius  it  would  be  lolly  to  deny." — N.  Y.  Tribune. 

"Mr.  Poe's  intellectual  character — his  genius — is  stamped  upon  all  his  produc 
tions,  and  we  shall  place  these  his  works  in  the  library  among  these  books  not 
to  be  parted  with." — N.  Y.  Commercial  Advmiser. 

"  These  works  have  a  funereal  cast  as  well  in  the  melancholy  portrait  pre 
fixed  and  the  title,  as  in  the  three  pallbearing  editors  who  accompany  them 
in  public.  They  are  the  memorial  of  a  singular  man,  possessed  perhaps  of  as 
great  mere  literary  ingenuity  and  mechanical  dexterity  of  style  and  manage 
ment  as  any  the  country  has  produced.  Some  of  the  tales  in  the  collection 
are  as  complete  arid  admirable  as  anything  of  their  kind  in  the  language." — 
Military  Review. 

"  A  complete  collection  of  the  works  of  one  of  the  most  talented  and  singu 
lar  men  of  the  day.  Mr.  Poe  was  a  genius,  but  an  erratic  one — he  was  a  cornet 
or  a  meteor,  not  a  star  or  sun.  His  genius  was  that  almost  contradiction  of 
terms,  an  analytic  genius.  Genius  is  nearly  universally  synthetic — but  Poe  was 
an  exception  to  all  rules.  Ho  would  build  up  a  poem  as  a  bricklayer  builds  a 
wall ;  or  rather,  he  would  begin  at  the  top  and  build  downward  to  the  ba.se  ; 
and  yet,  into  the  poem  so  manufactured,  he  would  manage  to  breathe  the  breath 
of  life.  And  this  fact  proved  that  it  was  not  all  a  manufacture— that  the  poem 
was  also,  to  a  certain  degree,  a  growth,  a  real  plant,  taking  root  in  the  mind, 
and  watered  by  the  springs  of  the  soul." — Saturday  Post. 

"  We  have  just  spent  some  delightful  hours  in  looking  over  these  two  vol 
umes,  which  contain  one  of  the  most  pleasing  additions  to  our  literature  with 
which  we  have  met  for  a  long  time.  They  comprise  the  works  of  the  late 
Edgar  A.  Poe — pieces  which  for  years  have  been  going  '  the  rounds  of  the 
press,'  and  are  now  first  collected  when  their  author  is  beyond  the  reach  of 
hutmir  praise.  ,  We  feel,  however,  that  these  productions  will  live.  They 
bear  t'ae  stamp  of  true  genius  ;  and  if  their  reputation  begins  with  a  '  fit  audi 
ence  ',h  mgh  few,'  the  circle  will  be  constantly  widening,  and  they  will  retain  a 
promir.snt  place  in  our  literature." — Rev.  Dr.  Kip. 


BOOKS  PUBLISHED   BY  J.  S.  REOFIELD. 


cjocb 


JUST  PUBLISHED, 
In  one  Volume,  12mo.,  cloth,  PRICE  $1.50, 

THE   LITERATI: 

SOME  HONEST  OPINIONS  ABOUT 

AUTORIAL  MERITS  AND  DEMERITS, 

WITH  OCCASIONAL  WORDS  OF  PERSONALITY 

INCLUDING 

MARGINALIA,  SUGGESTIONS,  AND  ESSAYS. 

BY   EDGAR   A.   POE. 

If  I  have  in  any  point  receded  from  what  is  commonly  received,  it  hath  been 
for  the  purpose  of  proceeding  melius  and  not  in  aliud. — LORD  BACON. 

Truth,  peradventure,  by  force,  may  for  a  time  be  trodden  down,  but  never,  by 
any  means,  whatsoever  can  it  be  trodden  out. — LORD  COKE. 


Among  the  subjects  treated  of  in  the  volume,  are  criticisms  on  the 
works  of  the  following  authors : — 


J.  G.  C.  BRAINARD, 
FITZ  GREENE  HALLECK, 
WILLIAM  CULLEN  BRYANT, 
HENRY  W.  LONGFELLOW, 
CHARLES  F.  HOFFMAN, 
WILLIAM  GILMORE  SIMMS, 
JAMES  FENIMORE  COOPER, 
CHARLES  ANTHON,  LL.D., 
GULIAN  C.  VERPLANCK, 
ROBERT  WALSH. 
PIERO  MARONCELLI, 
JOHN  W.  FRANCIS,  M.D.,  LL.D 
WILLIAM  W.  LORD, 
SEE  A  SMITH, 
THOMAS  WARD,  M.D., 
RICHARD  ADAMS  LOCKE, 
RUFUS  DA  WES, 
JAMES  LAWSON, 
PROSPER  M.  WETMORE, 
GEORGE  B.  CHEEVER,  D.D., 
FREEMAN  HUNT, 
NATHANIEL  HAWTHORNE, 
RUFUS  W.  GRISWOLD, 
BAYARD  TAYLOR, 


JOEL  T.  HEADLEY, 
GEORGE  P.  MORRIS, 
NATHANIEL  PARKER  WILLIS, 
HENRY  CAREY, 
LAUGHTON  OSBORN, 
EPES  SARGENT, 
E.  P.  WHIPPLE, 
ROBERT  M.  BIRD, 
WILLIAM  ELLERY  CHANNING, 
WILLIAM  A.  JAMES, 
CATHARINE  M.  SEDGWICK, 
FRANCES  S.  OSGOOD, 
ANNE  C.  LYNCH, 
ELIZABETH  OAKES-SMITH, 
CAROLINE  M.  KIRKLAND, 
ANNA  CORA  MOWATT, 
ANN  S.  STEPHENS, 
ESTELLE  ANNA  LEWIS, 
ELIZABETH  BOGART, 
MARY  GOVE  NICHOLS, 
AMELIA  B.  WELBY, 
MARGARET  MILLER  DAVIDSON, 
LUCRETIA  MARIA  DAVIDSON, 
SARAH  MARGARET  FULLER, 


CHRISTOPHER  PEASE  CRANCH,    EMMA  C.  EM'BURY, 


JAMES  RUSSELL  LOWELL, 
CORNELIUS  MATHEWS, 
HENRY  B.  HIRST, 
LEWIS  GAYLORD  CLARK, 
RALPH  HOYT, 
JAMES  ALDRICH, 
THOMAS  DUNN  BROWN, 
CHARLES  F.  BRIGGS, 
WILLIAM  M.  GILLESPIE, 
EVERT  A.  DUYCKINCK, 


LYDIA  M.  CHILD, 

ELIZABETH  BARRETT  BROWNING, 

T.  B.  MACAULAY, 

CHARLES  LEVER, 

HENRY  COCKTON, 

CHARLES  DICKENS, 

R.  H.  HORNE, 

FRANCIS  MARRYAT, 

SIR  EDWARD  BULWER  LYTTON, 

THOMAS  HOOD. 


BOOKS   PUBLISHED    BY  J.  S.   REDFIELD. 


JUST  PUBLISHED, 

In  one  Volume,  12wo.,  cloth,  PRICE  $1.25, 
THE 

NIGHT-SIDE  OF  IATURE  ; 

OR, 

GHOSTS  AND  GHOST-SEERS. 

BY  CATHERINE  CROWE, 

AUTHOH    OF    "SUSAIT    HOPLEY,"    "  LILLY    DAWSOK,"    ETC. 


OPINIONS  OF  THE   PRESS. 

This  book  treats  of  allegorical  dreams,  presentiments,  trances,  apparitions, 
troubled  spirits,  haunted  houses,  etc.,  and  will  be  re.id  with  interest  by  many 
because  it  comes  from  a  source  laying  claim  to  considerable  talent,  and  is 
written  by  one  who  really  believes  all  she  says,  and  urges  her  reasonings  with 
a  good  deal  of  earnestness. — Albany  Argus. 

It  embraces  a  vast  collection  of  marvellous  and  supernatural  stories  of  su 
pernatural  occurrences  out  of  the  ordinary  course  of  events. — N.  Y.  Globe. 

Miss  Crowe  has  proved  herself  a  careful  and  most  industrious  compiler. 
She  has  gathered  materials  from  antiquity  and  from  modern  times,  and  gives 
to  English  and  American  readers  the  ghost-stories  that  used  to  frighten  the 
young  ones  of  Greece  and  Rome,  as  well  as  those  that  accomplish"  a  similar 
end  in  Germany  and  other  countries  of  modern  Europe. — Phila.  Bulletin. 

It  is  written  in  a  philosophical  spirir. — Philadelphia  Courier. 

This  queer  volume  has  excited  considerable  attention  in  England.  It  is  not 
a  catchpenny  affair,  but  is  an  intelligent  inquiry  into  the  asserted  facts  respect- 
ing  ghosts  and  apparitions,  and  a  psychological  discussion  upon  the  reasona 
bleness  of  a  belief  in  their  existence. — Boston  Post. 

In  this  remarkable  work,  Miss  Crowe,  who  writes  with  the  vigor  and  grace 
of  a  woman  of  strong  sense  and  high  cultivation,  collects  the  most  remarkable 
and  best  authenticated  accounts,  traditional  and  recorded,  of  preternatural  vis 
itations  and  appearances. — Boston  Transcript. 

This  is  a  copious  chronicle  of  what  we  are  compelled  to  believe  authentic 
instances  of  communication  between  the  material  and  spiritual  world.  It  ia 
written  in  a  clear,  vigorous,  and  fresh  style,  and  keeps  the  reader  in  a  con 
stant  excitement,  yet  without  resorting  to  claptrap. — Day-Book. 

The  book  is  filled  with  facts,  which  are  not  to  be  disputed  except  by  actual 
proof.  They  have  long  been  undisputed  before  the  world.  The  class  of  facts 
are  mainly  of  a  kind  thought  by  most  persons  to  be  "mysterious  ;"  but  there 
will  be  found  much  in  the  book  calculated  to  throw  light  upon  the  heretofore 
mysterious  phenomena. — Providence  Mirror. 

This  book  is  one  which  appears  in  a  very  opportune  time  to  command  at 
tention,  and  should  be  read  by  all  who  are  desirous  of  information  in  regard 
to  things  generally  called  mysterious,  relating  to  the  manifestations  of  the 
spirit  out  of  man  and  in  him. —  Traveller. 

This  is  not  only  a  curious  but  also  a  very  able  work.  It  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting  books  of  the  season — albeit  the  reader's  hair  will  occasional 
ly  rise  on  end  as  he  turns  over  the  pages,  especially  if  he  reads  alone  far  into 
the  night. — Zion's  Herald. 

A  very  appropriate  work  for  these  days  of  mysterious  rappings,  but  one 
which  shows  that  the  author  has  given  the  subjects  upon  which  she  treats 
considerable  study,  and  imparts  the  knowledge  derived  in  a  concise  manner. 
— Boston  Evening  Gazette. 

This  is  undoubtedly  the  most  remarkable  book  of  the  month,  and  can  net 
fail  to  interest  all  classes  of  people. —  Water- Cure  Journal. 

To  the  lovers  of  the  strange  and  mysterious  in  nature,  this  volume  will  pos 
sess  an  attractive  interest.— ]V.  Y.  Truth-Teller. 

The  lovers  of  the  marvellous  will  delight  in  its  perusal.. —  Com.  Advertiser. 


BOOKS   PUBLISHED   BY  J.  S.   REDFIELD. 

For  Schools,  Academies,  and  Self-Instruction. 

THE 

AMERICAN     DRAWING- BOOK. 

BY  JOHN  G.  CHAPMAN,  N.  A. 

THIS  WORK  will  be  published  in  PARTS  ;  in  the  course  of  which— 

PRIMARY  INSTRUCTIONS  AND  RUDIMENTS  OF  DRAWING • 

DRAWING  FROM  NATURE —  MATERIALS  AND  METHODS: 

PERSPECTIVE  —  COMPOSITION  —  LANDSCAPE  —  FIGURES,  ETC  : 

DRAWING.  AS  APPLICABLE  TO  THE  MECHANIC  ARTS: 

PAINTING  IN  OIL  AND  WATER  COLORS: 

THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  LIGHT  AND  SHADE: 

EXTERNAL    ANATOMY  OF  THE    HUMAN    FORM,  AND  COMPARATIVE 

ANATOMY: 
THE  VARIOUS  METHODS  OF  ETCHING,  ENGRAVING,  MODELLING,  Etc. 

Will  be  severally  treated,  separately;  so  that,  as  far  as  practicable,  each 
Part  will  be  complete  in  itself,  and  form,  in  the  whole,  "  a  Manual  of 
Information  sufficient  for  all  the  purposes  of  the  Amateur,  and  Basis 
of  Study  for  the  Professional  Artist,  as  well  as  a  valuable  Assistant 
to  Teachers  in  Public  and  Private  Schools  ;"  to  whom  it  is  especially 
recommended,  as  a  work  destined  to  produce  a  revolution  in  the  sys 
tem  of  popular  education,  by  making  the  Arts  of  Design  accessible 
and  familiar  to  all,  from  the  concise  and  intelligible  manner  in  which 
the  subject  is  treated  throughout. 

The  want  of  such  a  work,  has  been  the  great  cause  of  neglect  in  this 
important  branch  of  education  ;  and  this  want  is  at  once  and  fully  pup- 
plied  by  the  — 

AMERICAN     DRAWING-BOOK  : 
upon  which  Mr.  CHAPMAN  has  been  for  years  engaged;  and  it  is  now 
produced,  without  regard  to  expense,  in  all  its  details,  and  published  at 
a  price  to  place  it  within  the  means  of  every  one. 

The  Work  will  be  published  in  large  quarto  form,  put  up  in  substan 
tial  covers,  and  issued  as  rapidly  as  the  careful  execution  of  the  numer 
ous  engravings,  and  the  mechanical  perfection  of  the  whole,  will  allow. 

I3P  Any  one  PART  may  be  had  separately 


Price  5O  Cents  each.  Part. 

&JT  The  DRAWING  COPY-BOOKS,  intended  as  auxiliary 
4>  to  the  Work,  in  assisting  Teachers  to  carry  out  the  system  of  instruction, 
A  especially  in  the  Primary  and  Elementary  parts,  form  a  new  and  valu- 
#|  able  addition  to  the  me^ns  of  instruction.  They  will  be  sold  at  a  cost 
$»  little  beyond  that  of  ordinary  blank-books. 


BOOKS   PUBLISHED   BY  J.  S.   REDFIELD 


CHAPMAN 

ox 


BEING    PART    III.    OF    THE    AMERICAN    DRAWING-BOOK. 


NOTICES  OF  THE  PRESS. 

"  The  nation  may  well  be  proxid  of  this  admirable  work.  In  design  and 
execution,  the  artist  has  been  singularly  felicitous  ;  and  nothing  can  surpass 
the  beauty,  correctness,  and  finish  of  style,  in  which  the  publisher  has  pre 
sented  it  to  his  countrymen.  The  book  is  strictly  what  it  claims  to  be — a 
teacher  of  the  art  of  Drawing.  The  method  is  so  "thorough,  comprehensive, 
and  progressive ;  its  rules  so  wise,  exact,  and  clearly  laid  down  ;  and  its  classic 
illustrations  are  so  skilfully  adapted  to  train  the  eye  and  hand,  that  no  pupil 
who  faithfully  follows  its  guidance,  can  fail  to  become,  at  least,  a  correct 
draughtsman.  We  have  been  especially  pleased  with  the  treatise  on  Perspec 
tive,  which  entirely  surpasses  anything  that  we  have  ever  met  with  upon 
that  difficult  branch  of  art." — Spirit  of  the  Age. 

"  Perspective,  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  branches  of  drawing,  and  one  the 
least  susceptible  of  verbal  explanation.  But  so  clearly  are  its  principles  devel 
oped  in  the  beautiful  letter-press,  and  so  exquisitely  are  they  illustrated  by  the 
engravings,  that  the  pupil's  way  is  opened  most  invitingly  to  a  thorough  knowl 
edge  of  both  the  elements  and  application  of  Perspective.'' — Home  Journal. 

"  It  treats  of  Perspective  with  a  masterly  hand.  The  engravings  are  superb, 
and  the  typography  unsurpassed  by  any  book  with  which  we  are  acquainted. 
It  is  an  honor  to  the  author  and  publisher,  and  a  credit  to  our  common  coun 
try." — Scientific  American. 

"  This  number  is  devoted  to  the  explanation  of  Perspective,  and  treats  that 
difficult  subject  with  admirable  clearness,  precision,  and  completeness.  The 
plates  and  letter-press  of  this  work  are  executed  with  uncommon  beauty.  It 
has  received  the  sanction  of  many  of  our  inoct  eminent  artists,  and  can  scarcely 
be  commended  too  highly."— N.  Y.  Tribune. 

"  This  present  number  is  dedicated  to  the  subject  of  Perspective — com 
mencing  with  the  elements  of  Geometry — and  is  especially  valuable  to  build 
ers,  carpenters,  and  other  artisans,  being  accompanied  with  beautiful  illustra 
tive  designs  drawn  by  Chapman,  and  further  simplified  by  plain  and  perspic 
uous  directions  for  the  guidance  of  the  student.  Indeed,  the  whole  work, 
from  its  undeviating  simplicity,  exhibits  the  hand  of  a  master.  We  trust  this 
highly  useful  and  elevated  branch  of  art  will  hereafter  become  an  integral  por 
tion  of  public  education,  and  as  it  is  more  easily  attainable,  so  will  it  ultimately 
be  considered  an  indispensable  part  of  elementary  instruction.  Its  cheapness 
is  only  rivalled  by  its  excellence,  and  the  artistic  beauty  of  its  illustrations  is 
only  equalled  by  the  dignified  ease  and  common  sense  exemplified  in  the 
written  directions  that  accompany  each  lesson. — Ponghke:psie  Tckgraph." 

"  The  subject  of  Perspective  we  should  think  would  interest  every  mechanic 
in  the  country ;  indeed,  after  all,  this  is  the  class  to  be  the  most  benefited  by 
sound  and  thorough  instruction  in  drawing.''— Dispatch. 

"  Permit  me  here  to  say  I  regard  your  Drawing-Book  as  a  treasure.  I  was 
a  farmer-boy,  and  it  was  while  daily  following  the  plough,  that  I  became  ac 
quainted  with  the  first  number  of  Chapman's  Drawing-Book,  I  found  in  it 
just  what  I  desired — a  plain,  sure  road  to  that  excellence  in  the  Art  ot  Art*,  that 
my  boyish  mind  had  pictured  as  being  so  desirable,  the  first  step  toward  which 
I  had  taken  by  making  rude  sketches  upon  my  painted  plouirhbeam,  or  u^ing 
the  barn-door  as  my  easel,  while  with  colored  rotten-stone  I  first  took  *essons 
from  Nature.  I  am  now  at  college. .  I  have  a  class  at  drawing,  and  find  in  the 
several  numbers  I  have  obtained,  the  true  road  for  the  teacher  also." — Extract 
from  a  Utter  recently  received. 


olocb 


I 
BOOKS   PUBLISHED   BY  J.  S.   REDFIELD. 


FOUR  SERIES  OF  TWELVE  BOOKS  EACH, 

IBlBAiWPElFOTIJIa'S'    EILILWilFIELIiJiPIlIDa 

FROM   DESIGNS   BY  J.   G     CHAPMAN. 


First  Series— Price  One  Cent. 

1.  Tom  Thumb's  Picture  Alphabet,  in  Rhyme. 

2.  Rhymes  for  the  Nursery. 

3.  Pretty  Rhymes  about  Birds  and  Animals,  for  little  Boys  and  Girls. 

4.  Life  on  the  Farm,  in  Amusina:  Rhyme. 

5.  The  Story-Book  for  Good  Little  Girls. 

6.  The  Beacon,  or  Warnings  to  Thoughtless  Boys. 

7.  The  Picture  Book,  with  Stories  in  Easy  Words,  for  Little  Readers. 

8.  The  Little  Sketch-Book,  or  Useful  Objects  Illustrated. 

9.  History  of  Domestic  Animals. 

10.  The  Museum  of  Birds. 

11.  The  Little  Keepsake,  a  Poetic  Gift  for  Children. 

12.  The  Book  of  the  Sea,  for  the  Instruction  of  Little  Sailors. 

Second  Series— Price  Two  Cents. 

1.  The  A  B  C  in  Verse,  for  Young  Learners. 

2.  Figures  in  Verse,  and  Simple  Rhymes,  for  Little  Learners. 

3.  Riddles  for  the  Nursery. 

4.  The  Child's  Story-Book. 

5.  The  Christmas  Dream  of  Little  Charles. 

6.  The  Basket  of  Strawberries. 

7.  Story  for  the  Fourth  of  July,  an  Epitome  of  American  History. 

8.  The  Two  Friends,  and  Kind  Little  James. 

9.  The  Wagon-Boy,  or  Trust  in  Providence. 

10.  Paulina  and  Her  Pets. 

11.  Simple  Poems  for  Infant  Minds. 

12.  Little  Poems  for  Little  Children. 

Third  Series— Price  Four  Cents. 

1.  The  Alphabet  in  Rhyme. 

2.  The  Multiplication  Table  in  Rhyme;  for  Young  Arithmeticians. 

3.  The  Practical  Joke,  or  the  Christinas  Story  of  Uncle  Ned. 

4.  Little  George,  or  Temptation  Resisted. 

5.  The  Young  Arithmetician,  or  the  Reward  of  Perseverance. 

6.  The  Traveller's  Story,  or  the  Village  Bar-Room. 

7.  The  Sagacity  and  Intelligence  of  the  Horse. 

8.  The  Young  'Sailor,  or  the  Sea-Life  of  Tow  Bowline. 

9.  The  Selfish  Girl,  a  Tale  of  Truth. 

10.  Manual  or  Finger  Alphabet,  used  by  the  Deaf  and  Dumb. 

11.  The  Story-Book  in  Verse. 

12.  The  Flower- Vase,  or  Pretty  Poems  for  Good  little  Children. 

Fourth  Series— Price  Six  Cents. 

1.  The  Book  of  Fables,  in  Prose  and  Verse 

2.  The  Little  Casket,  filled  with  Pleasant  Stories. 

3.  Home  Pastimes,  or  Enigmas,  Charades,  Rebuses,  Conundrums,  etc. 

4.  The  Juvenile  Sunday-Book,  adapted  to  the  Improvement  of  the  Young1. 

5.  William  Seaton  and  the  Buttertly,  with  its  Interesting  History. 

6.  The  Young  Girl's  Book  of  Healthful  Amusements  and  Exercises. 

7.  Theodore  Carleton.  or  Perseverance  against  Ill-Fortune.. 

8  The  Aviary,  or  Child's  Book  of  Birds. 

9  The  Jungle,  or  Child's  Book  of  Wild  Animals. 

10.  Sagacity  and  Fidelity  of  the  Dog,  Illustrated  by  Interesting  Anecdotes. 

11.  Coverings  for  the  Head  and  Feet,  in  all  Ages  and  Countries. 

12.  Romance  of  Indian  History,  or  Incidents  in  the  Early  Settlements. 


BOOKS   PUBLISHED    BY  J.  S.   REDFIELD. 


THE    POETICAL    WORKS 


PERCY   BYSSHE   SHELLEY, 

EDITED   BY   G.  G.  FOSTER. 

THE    FIRST    COMPLETE   AMERICAN   EDITION. 

In  one  volume,  16mo. 

"  Shelley  has  a  private  nook  in  my  affections.  He  is  so  unlike  all  other  po 
ets  that  I  can  not  mate  him.  He  is  like  his  own  '  skylark'  among  birds.  H^ 
does  not  keep  ever  up  in  the  thin  air  with  Byron,  like  the  eagle,  nor  sing 
with  Keats  low  and  sweetly  like  the  thrush,  nor,  like  the  dove  sitting  always 
upon  her  nest,  brood  with  \Vurdsworth  over  the  affections.  He  begins  to 
sing  when  the  morning  wakes  him,  and  as  he  grows  wiid  with  his  own  song, 
he  mounts  upward, 

'  And  singing  ever  soars,  and  soaring  ever  singeth;' 

and  it  is  wonderful  how  he  loses  himself,  like  the  delirious  bird  in  the  sky, 
|  and  with  a  verse  which  may  be  well  compared  for  its  fine  delicacy  wit.h  her 
[  little  wings,  penetrates  its  far  depths  fearlessly  and  full  of  joy.  There  is 

something  very  new  in  this  mingled  trait  of  fineness  and  sublimity.  Milton 
V  and  Byron  scern  made  for  the  sky.  Their  broad  wings  always  strike  the  air 
§  with  the  same  solemn  majesty.  But  Shelley,  near  the  ground,  is  a  very  •  bird 
gs[  in  a  bower,'  running  through  his  merry  compass  as  if  he  never  dreamed  of 
£  the  upward  and  invisible  heavens.  Withal,  Shelley's  genius  is  too  fiery  to 
•  be  moody.  He  was  a  melancholy  man,  but  it  was  because  he  was  crossed 
I  in  the  daily  walk  of  life,  and  such  anxieties  did  not  touch  his  imagination. 

It  was  above — far,  far  above  them.     His  poetry  was  not,  like  that  of  other 

poets,  linked  with  his  common  interests  ;  and  if  it  '  unbound  the  serpent  of 

>  care  from  his  heart,'  as  doubtless  it  did,  it  was  by  making  him  forget  that  it 
was  there.    He  conceived  and  wrote  in  a  wizard  circle.     The  illiberal  world 
was  the  last  thing  remembered,  and  its  annoying  prejudices  gall  him  as  they 
rmght  in  tiie  exercise  of  his  social  duties,  never  followed  over  the  fiery  limit 
of  his  fancy.    Never  have  we  seen  such  pure  abstraction  from  earthliness  as 
in  the  temper  of  his  poetry.     It  is  the  clear,  intellectual  lymph,  unalloyed 
and  unpolluted."— AT.  P.  Willis. 

NAPOLEON^^nVI^xTMS    O  F  WAR, 

Translated  by  Col.  D'Aguilar. 
WITH     NOTES. 

In  one  vol.,  32mo.     Price  50  cents. 

"THE  science  of  war,  in  its  legitimate  sense,  is  entitled  to  encourage 
ment,  and  study,  and  we  recommend  that  every  man  of  military  mind,  should 
possess  himself  of  a  copy  of  '  Napoleon's  Maxims.'  The  work  is  also  one 
of  interest  to  the  general  reader,  containing,  as  it  does,  numerous  brief  his 
torical  facts  connected  with  the  most  celebrated  battles,  and  men  of  mili 
tary  renown  of  almost  every  age." — Recruit. 

"  IT  is  a  work  of  no  little  interest  to  those  who  wish  to  understand  the 
principles  upon  which  the  greatest  captain  of  the  age  carried  on  his  opera 
tions,  and  who  also  desire  to  understand  the  errors  committed  by  the  infe 
rior  intellects  brought  into  the  field  against  him." — Perm.  Inquirer. 

"  THIS  work  appears  in  its  first  American  edition,  with  a  recommenda 
tion  from  Gen.  Scott,  speaking  of  its  utility  to  military  men.  That,  indeed, 

>  is  apparent  enough  ;  but  it  has  occurred  to  us  that  the  perusal  of  the  little 
.      work,  with  its  full  illustrative  notes,  must  be  of  great  advantage  also  to  the 

general  reader,  who  desires  to  understand  the  tactics  of  the  great  Emperor. 
It  will  be  a  good  companion  to  Thiers'  History,  now  publishing."—  U  S.  Sat. 
\      Post. 


BOOKS   PUBLISHiiil   3l    I.  S.   FEDFIELD. 

KNOWLEDGE    FOR  THE    PEOPLE. 

RE-ISSUE    Otf    THE 

PENNY    MAGAZINE. 

4000  IMPERIAL  OCTAVO  PAGES. 

2000  ENGRAVINGS!! 

A  COMPLETE  LIBRARY  WITHIN  ITSELF, 

THE  London  Penny  Magazine,  issued  tinder  the  direction  of  the  "  So 
ciety  for  the  Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge,"  is,  unquestionably,  one  of 
the  most  entertaining  and  useful  of  all  U:3  popular  works  which  has  ev 
er  appeared  in  any  age,  or  in  any  langusgs.  Its  pages  embrace  every 
subject  in  the  wide  field  of  human  knowledge,  and  as  every  article, 
whether  on 

Science,  History,  Biography,  Literature,  or  the  Arts, 

passed  the  careful  scrutiny  and  critical  ordeal  of  an  able  committee  of 
learned  men,  the  work  may  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  youth  of  the 
country  without  danger  or  distrust.  The  popularity  of  the  "work  in 
England  may  be  judged  of  from  the  fact  that  during  the  first  year  of  its 
publication 

MOHIS   THAR?  8O,OOO  COPIES 

of  the  monthly  parts  were  disposed  of.  In  the  United  States  too,  the 
work  has  acquired  no  inconsiderable  popularity,  though  it  has  not  here 
tofore  been  presented  to  the  American  public  in  such  a  manner  as  to  in 
sure  a  universal  circulation.  The  numerous  abortive  imitations  of  it, 
however,  which  have  appeared  from  time  to  time,  prove  at  once  the  great 
value  of  the  work,  and  the  great  difficulty  and  immense  expense  of  suc 
cessfully  accomplishing  such  an  enterprise. 

The  undersigned  having  pu. chased  the  Stereotype  plates,  with  the 
Engravings,  of  the  London  edition  of  the  above-named  work,  has  com 
menced  its  republication  in  the  city  of  New  York.  The  whole  work 
consists  of  about  4000  large  imperial  octavo  pages,  and  is  Illustrated  with 
2000  Engravings.  The  original  cost  of  the  Stereotyping  and  Engraving 
to  the  London  publishers,  was  $25,000.  The  American  He-issue  is  print 
ed  on  good  paper,  and  well  done  up  in  handsome  paper  covers,  and  is 
sued  hi 

24  PARTS,  AT  25  CENTS  EACH. 

The  Parts  average  170  pages  each,  and  are  published  every  other  Satur 
day.  It  is  an  exact  reprint  of  the  London  edition,  without  alteration  or 
abridgment.  The  Work  is  sold  by  all  dealers  in  Books  and  cheap  Lit 
erature,  throughout  the  United  States. 

V  The  Work  may  be  bad-  bound  in  EIGHT  VOLUMES— price 
Eight  Dollars  ;  and,  in  FOUR  VOLUMES— price  Seven  Dollars  and 
Fifty  Cents. 


11 


BOOKS  PUBLISHED   BY  J.  S.  REDFIELD. 


W.  F.  P.  NAPIER,  C.B.,  COL.  43D  REG.,  &c. 
HISTORY    OF    THE 

WAR    IN    THE    PENINSULA, 

AND    IN  THE  SOUTH    OF    FRANCE, 

FROM  THE  YEAR  1807  TO  1814. 
Complete  in  one  vol..  8vo.     Price  Three  Dollars. 

"  NAPIER'S  history  is  regarded  by  the  critics  as  one  of  the  best  narratives 
that  lias  recently  been  written.  His  style  is  direct,  forcible,  and  impetuous, 
carrying  the  reader  along  often  in  spite  of  himself,  through  scenes  of  the 
most  stirring  interest  and  adventures  lull  of  excitement.  Many  of  the  most 
distinguished  and  remarkable  men  of  European  history  figure  in  these  pages, 
and  are  sketched  with  great  distinctness  of  outline.  Napoleon,  Wellington, 
Sir  John  Moore,  Ney,  Murat,  and  others,  are  the  characters  of  the  drama 
which  Napier  describes." — Evening  Mirror. 

"  WE  believe  the  Literature  of  War  has  not  received  a  more  valuable 
augmentation  this  century  than  Col.  Napier's  justly  celebrated  work.  Though 
a  gallant  combatant  in  the  field,  he  is  an  impartial  historian  ;  he  exposes  the 
errors  committed  on  each  side,  refutes  many  tales  of  French  atrocity  and 
rapine,  and  does  not  conceal  the  revolting  scenes  of  drunkenness,  pillage, 
ravishment,  and  wanton  slaughter,  which  tarnished  the  lustre  of  the  British 
arms  in  those  memorable  campaigns.  We  think  no  civilian  chronicler  of  the 
events  of  this  desperate  contest  has  been  so  just  to  the  adversary  of  his  na 
tion  as  has  this  stern  warrior." — Tribune. 

"  NAPIER'S  History,  in  addition  to  its  superior  literary  merits  and  truth 
ful  fidelity,  presents  strong  claims  upon  the  attention  of  all  American 
citizens  ;  because  the  author  is  a  large-souled  philanthropist,  and  an  inflex 
ible  enemy  to  its  ecclesiastical  tyranny  and  secular  despots  ;  while  his  pic 
tures  of  Spain,  and  his  portrait  of  the  rulers  in  that  degraded  and  wretched 
country,  form  a  virtual  sanction  of  our  Republican  institutions,  far  more 
powerful  than  any  direct  eulogy." — Post. 

"  THE  excellency  of  Napier's  History  results  from  the  writer's  happy 
lalont  for  impetuous,  straight  forward,  soul-stirring  narrative  and  picturing 
forth  of  characters.  The  military  manoeuvre,  march,  and  fiery  onset,  the 
whole  whirlwind  vicissitudes  of  the  desperate  fight,  he  describes  with  dra 
matic  force.''— Merchants1  Magazine. 

"THE  reader  of  Napier's  History  finds  many  other  attractions,  besides  the 
narrative  of  battles,  marches,  plunder,  ravages,  sieges,  skirmishes,  and 
slaughter— for  he  learns  the  dreadful  evils  of  a  despotic  government— the 
inherent  corruption  of  the  entire  system  of  European  monarchies — the  popu 
lar  wretchedness  which  ever  accompanies  the  combination  of  a  lordly,  hier 
archical  tyranny  with  the  secular  authority,  and  the  assurance  that  the  ex 
tinction  of  both  are  essential  to  the  peace  and  welfare  of  mankind.  All 
these  lessons  are  derived  from  Napier's  History,  which,  in  connexion  with 
its  literary  excellence,  and  the  accuracy  of  its  details,  render  all  other  rec 
ommendations  utterly  superfluous.  It  is  a  large,  neat,  and  cheap  volume." 
L.  I.  Star. 

EDWARD    GIBBON. 
HISTORY  OF  THE     DECLINE   AND    FALL 


THE     ROMAN     EMPIRE; 

A  new  edition,  revised  and  corrected  throughout,  preceded  by  a  Pref 
ace,  and  accompanied  by  Notes,  critical  and  historical,  relating  prin 
cipally  to  the  propagation  of  Christianity.  By  M.  F.  GUIZOT,  Minis 
ter  of  Public  Instruction  of  France. 

In  two  vols.,  8vo.    Price  Five  Dollars. 


J,  S,  REDFIELD 

ALSO    PUBLISHES 

THE    GRAMMATIC    READERS, 

NOS.  I.,  II.,  III. 

BY  EDWARD  HAZEN,  A,  M., 

AUTHOR   OF   "SPELLER  AND   DEFINER,"    "SYMBOLICAL   SPELLING 
BOOK,"    ETC.,    ETC. 

ILLUSTRATED  W^TH    NUMEROUS   ENGRAVINGS, 

FROM   DESIGNS   BY 

J.    G.    CII  APM  AN,    ESQ., 
Which  have  been  engraved  and  printed  in  the  best  style. 

These  READERS  are  adapted  to  beginners  in  reading,  as  well  as  to 
advanced  scholars  who  need  improvement  in  their  pronunciation  of 
word?  and  in  their  quantity  in  uttering  sentences.  In  the  first  two 
Numbers,  the  parts  of  speech  are  presented  in  every  variety  of  con 
struction  ;  and  every  association  is  so  clearly  and  fully  illustrated  by 
examples,  that  pupils,  who  use  them  for  reading  only,  can  hardly  fail 
to  acqu'.re  a  practical  knowledge  of  the  structures  of  the  language,  even 
though  they  omit  the  rules  of  grammar  which  accompany  them. 

The  phraseology  is  manly  throughout;  and,  if  pupils  be  thoroughly 
drilled  in  reading  the  several  lessons,  nearly  every  association  of  words 
will  be  committed  to  memory,  and  the  whole,  combined,  will  form  the 
basis  of  a  correct  style  of  speaking  and  writing. 

These  reading  lessons  constitute  a  complete  series  of  parsing  lessons, 
to  which  may  be  applied  the  system  of  etymology  and  syntax  which 
accompanies  them,  or  any  other  system  which  the  teacher  may  prefer: 
and  every  example  may  be  proposed  as  a  model  to  be  imitated  by  pu- 
pi's  in  advanced  classes. 

On  account  of  the  orderly  arrangement  of  the  constructions  of  the 
language,  grammar  and  composition  may  be  here  learned  much  earlier 
than  it  has  hitherto  been  thought  to  be  possible.  As  a  theoretical  and 
pn  ctical  grammar,  teachers  will  find  these  books  adapted  to  pupils  of 
every  grade  of  knowledge  in  this  branch  of  learning. 

The 'first  Reader  is  embellished  with  82  engravings,  and  the  second 
with  08 ;  all  of  which  are  executed  in  the  very  best  manner,  from  ori 
ginal  designs.  No  other  school  books  have  ever  been  so  splendidly 
illustrated,  or  so  beautifully  printed. 

In  the  third  Reader  are  repeated  the  engravings  of  the  first,  accom 
panied  by  concise  articles,  or  essays,  on  the  several  subjects  suggested 
by  the  designs  of  the  artist.  The  book  is  to  be  used  first  for  reading 
and  then  as  a  guide  in  composition.  Teachers  will  find  it  precisely 
adapted  to  these  purposes,  if  they  have  been  thorough  in  drilling  their 
pupils  ia  the  preceding  Numbers. 


f 


ft* 


BOOKS  PUBLISHED   BY  J.  S.  REDFIELD. 
HAZEN'S     GRAMMATIC     READERS. 

RECOMMENDATIONS    AND    NOTICES. 
From  the  Committee  of  tke  Board  of  Education. 

SCHENECTADY,  October  12,  1846. 

DEAR  SIR  :  In  compliance  with  a  resolution  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 
the  Lancaster  School  Society,  of  this  city,  we  have  examined,  with  as  much 
care  as  the  time  allowed  would  permit  us  to  bestow,  the  series  of  GKAM- 
MATIC  READERS. (Nos.  I.,  II.,  and  III.),  of  Mr.  EDWARD  HAZEN  ;  and,  from 
such  examination,  are  enabled  to  say,  that  the  series  is  well  adapted  to  at 
tain  the  object  Mr.  Hazen  has  had  in  view  in  its  preparation,  viz. :  that  of 
enabling  the  scholar  to  understand  the  English  language  while  learning  to 
read  it. 

With  the  gradations,  and  systematic  and  illustrative  arrangement,  of  the 
Readers,  we  are  much  pleased,  and  believe  they  will  prove  to  be  a  very  val 
uable  aid  to  Teachers  of  Common  Schools,  in  instructing  and  interesting 
their  scholars  in  that  branch  of  learning  to  which  the  series  is  devoted. 

We  shall  not  only  report  in  favor  of  authorizing  the  introduction  of  the 
Gramrnatic  Readers  into  the  schools  under  the  care  of  the  trustees,  but 
shall  recommend  tkeir  introduction  as  speedily  as  practicable. 

Very  respectfully,  yours,  T.  R.  VAN  INGEN, 

THOMAS  PALMER, 
ALEX.  HOLLAND. 
From  the  Teachers  of  the  Public  Schools. 

SCHENECTADY,  October  8,  1S46. 

DEAR  SIR  :  We  have  briefly  examined  HAZEN'S  GRAMMATIC  READERS 
(Nos.  I.  and  II.),  which  you  kindly  presented  to  us,  and  believe  that  they 
are  well  calculated  for  the  object  which  the  author  has  in  view.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  children  will  learn  more  rapidly  a  correct  pronunciation 
of  words,  arranged  according  to  this  system,  than  they  will  in  many  of  tlio 
books  which  we  have  in  our  schools.  And  there  can  be  no  reason  why  the 
first  principles  of  grammar  may  not  be  taught  at  the  same  time  that  the 
scholar  is  learning  to  read.  In  short,  we  think  the  work  worthy  of  the  no 
tice  of  the  friends  of  popular  education. 

Respectfully,  yours,  WM.  G.  CAW,        J.  V.  CLUTE 

To  Mr.  FOSTER.  A.  W.  COX,  M.  VEEDER. 

From  the  New  York  Evening  Gazette  and  Times. 

"J.  S.  Redfield,  of  Clinton  Hall,  has  just  published  the  GRAMMATIC 
READERS,  Nos.  I.  and  II.,  by  EDWARD  HAZEN,  A.  M.,  and  we  conceive  them 
to  be  the  most  elegant  books  of  juvenile  instruction  ever  issued  in  this  or 
any  other  country.  The  author's  ability  and  qualifications  for  the  task  he 
has  undertaken  have  been  already  shown  in  'Hazen's  Speller  and  Definer ;' 
and  a  most  satisfactory  further  development  of  his  system  of  imparting  an 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  elements  of  our  vernacular  will  be  found  in  the 
book  now  under  notice.  It  is,  however,  to  its  typographical  and  illustrated 
character  to  which  we  referred,  when  speaking  of  the  unsurpassed  'ele 
gance'  of  this  little  school-book.  It  is  printed  on  firm,  thick  paper,  with 
handsome  open  type,  and  contains  sixty-eight  engravings,  from  original 
drawings  by  Chapman,  which  are  among  the  most  spirited  sketches  that 
ever  carne  from  the  pencil  of  that  accomplished  artist ;  and  these  are  en 
graved  with  a  degree  of  skill  and  high  finish  that  would  befit  an  illustrated 
edition  of  Gray  or  Goldsmith. 

"  Compared  with  this,  the  miserable  wood-cuts  with  which  young  folks 
have  hitherto  been  obliged  to  be  content  in  the  volumes  published,  whether 
for  their  amusement  or  instruction — they  mark  a  new  era  in  publications 
addressed  chiefly  to  the  young.  Taste,  that  delicate  quality  of  the  trained 
intellect  (and  which,  with  its  twin-brother  discrimination,  makes  a  feeler  to 
the  rrind  as  important  to  some  of  its  operations  as  is  the  trunk  of  the  ele 
phant  to  the  purveyance  of  the  creature's  proper  food),  true  taste  is  minis 
tered  to  in  these  drawings,  at  the  season  of  life  when  it  is  most  susceptible 
of  gentle  and  unconscious  training.  Boston,  which  we  believe  has  hitherto 
been  the  most  famous  city  for  its  juvenile  books,  will  doubtless,  with  its 
readiness  to  appreciate  a  good  thing,  instantly  acknowledge  that  the  enter 
prise  of  Mr.  Redfield  has  given  Nevy  York  so  much  the  lead  that  it  will  re 
quire  great  efforts  to  rival  her  in  this  department  of  book- making." 


